On January 22, 2001 the ATI office sponsored a workshop on the topic of Restorative Justice. Featured speakers were Dennis Wittman and Kirby Trask, of the Genesee County Sheriff's office, Genesee Real Justice Program.
Approximately 75 people attended the workshop and represented folks from law enforcement, social services, human services agencies, probation, schools, magistrates, victims advocates and the county legislature. We listened as Dennis and Kirby shared some of what they have done in Genesee County regarding this issue of Restorative Justice.
We learned that Restorative Justice is not a program; that it is an attitude and a mindset. We learned that Restorative Justice primarily focuses on the victims and the community, at large, rather than just punishment of the offender. Sometimes Restorative Justice involves victim/offender mediation, when appropriate and desired by the victim. We learned how schools could incorporate a "restorative" mindset in their environment. We also learned that to truly be focused on Restorative Justice, you need to be a "visionary".
There is a Restorative Justice Committee in Ontario County and it consists of Sarah Utter and Jim Ritts from the DA's office, Sharon Collins and Jeff Rougeux from the Probation Dept., Barry McFadden and Sandy Packard from the County Attorneys office, Alice Haskins from the jail, Steve Sherry from the Community Service Program, Michelle Alvaro from the Partnership for Ontario County, Rev. Gary Judson and Father Doug Della-Pietra representing the faith community, Bob Zimmerman, a local defense attorney, Scarlett Emerson from Catholic Charities of the Finger Lakes, Stephanie Vassello from the Geneva Police Dept., Mickey Record, job developer in the jail, and myself. We will begin to meet and process the kind of information we heard at this presentation and begin to talk about how the philosophies of Restorative Justice could be implemented here in our county. Stay tuned for more developments with Restorative Justice!
Ginny Gumaer
