PCAO Divisions
Restorative Justice
The Mission of the Restorative Justice Program (RJP) is to provide a victim-centered, community-led alternative to prosecution that promotes community safety through facilitated dialogue. The program’s core values are centered on accountability, empowerment, and recognition.
Our vision is to seek to repair harm for victims and other stakeholders affected by the crime, reduce risk of reoffending for offenders, and restore community relationships.
The Pima County Attorney’s Office recognizes the community’s need for an adult restorative justice program that will serve, for qualifying offenses, as a community driven alternative to prosecution. Victims might have questions about the incident that go unaddressed or have requests for what accountability looks like that sit outside what the traditional court system can provide. Qualified offenders who face prosecution are not provided with a way to acknowledge their wrongdoing and work to repair the harm.
Restorative Justice is a people-centered, non-punitive process. It recognizes that crime is a violation of relationships, in that our actions impact others that we are in community with. It offers victims (harmed parties) a chance to speak directly (or indirectly) to the person who caused harm and to ask for what they need for things to be made right. It also offers the person who caused harm a chance to hear and feel the impact of their behavior and become truly accountable for making it right. Community members are also present to speak to the community’s needs and help identify ways to repair the harm, while supporting the person who caused it in reintegrating into the community with the skills and awareness needed to make better decisions in the future.
Division Information
RJP Goals
The goals of the RJ Program are to:
- Provide an experience of healing for impacted parties by providing victims with a voice in the restorative process while providing an opportunity for the participant to be directly accountable for the harms done.
- Enhance public safety by addressing the underlying causes of criminal behavior.
- Mitigate racial disparities reflected in disproportionate contact with the justice system by prioritizing zip codes based on need and not limiting eligibility to first-time offenders.
- Reduce state, city, and county costs by lowering the number of court cases.
Division information
Our Response to Crime
Victim-Centric Approach:
- Victims are given the opportunity to participate directly or indirectly in the restorative justice process.
- Participation is entirely voluntary, and victims have the right to decline to participate at any stage.
- Victims hold veto authority regarding case referral, meaning they have the power to refuse the involvement of restorative justice in their case.
Offender-Focused Approach:
- Restorative justice is most effective for offenders who are willing to mend relationships and repair the harm they caused to victims and the community.
- Offenders are required to accept responsibility for their actions and actively engage in creating steps to be held accountable.
- The process aims to address the root causes of the offender’s actions, providing opportunities for needed social services.
Community-Led Process:
- Trained volunteer facilitators lead the RJ Circle process.
- Community members participate in the process, representing community concerns and ensuring that justice is rooted in the local context.
- Community-based justice is realized through the involvement of volunteers and the direct engagement of the community in addressing the impacts of crime.
Overall, the RJP seeks to promote healing and restoration by involving victims, providing the space for offenders to hold themselves accountable, and integrating community perspectives into the justice process. This approach aims to address the broader impacts of crime beyond legal consequences, fostering understanding, empathy, and community resilience.
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RJP Guiding Principles
Crime is a violation of people and relationships
Crime hurts individual victims, communities, and offenders and creates obligations “to put things right” to the extent possible. Restoration refers to repairing the harm done and rebuilding relationships in the community.
Victims and the community are central to the justice process
The people most affected by crime should be the key decision makers in deciding how justice is achieved---victim (if they choose to be involved), community, and the offender.
The primary focus is to assist victims and address their needs
The victim’s perspective is key to determining how to repair the harm resulting from the crime.
A harm to one is a harm to all.
Parties involved in the restorative justice process share responsibility for repairing harm. Offender has a personal responsibility to victims and to the community for wrongs committed by addressing the causes of their behavior. The community has a responsibility for the well-being of all its members, including both victims and offenders.
Volunteers
The RJ Program is a community-led process run by trained volunteers.
We are currently accepting volunteer applications for the following positions:
Restorative Justice Facilitator:
A team of two volunteer facilitators (1 facilitator, 1 co-facilitator) directs the RJ circles. They conduct pre-circle preparation with all involved parties. Facilitators are offered a stipend per case. Role: The role of a facilitator is to create a safe space for open dialogue which includes respect, honesty, cultural humility, and listening. They facilitate a scripted process from talking about what happens to completing an Accountability Agreement with all parties. A facilitator is flexible, aware of communication and dialogue styles, and provides a supportive space for all voices to be heard.Community Member:
Community Member volunteers are needed in every circle conference to express the ripple effect that crime has on a community, thus showing the Responsible Party the larger impact of their actions.
Role: Community Members participate in the RJ circle, voice their opinion and experiences, and tell the responsible party how their behavior impacts them and their community, and help the Responsible Party repair harm with the help of their own community connections. They also have the option of assisting in post-circle monitoring.
Restoring Hope
What Are Restorative Practices?
All humans are hardwired to connect. Just as we need food, shelter and clothing, human beings also need strong and meaningful relationships to thrive. Restorative practices is a field within the social sciences that studies how to strengthen relationships between individuals as well as social connections within communities.
Resources
Program Documents
If you are interested in volunteering for the RJP Volunteer Application, please fill out an RJP Volunteer Application or download the PDF application form and email it to emmanuelle.fahey@pcao.pima.gov.
- Restorative Justice? What’s That?
- Restorative Justice Practices Of Native American, First Nation And Other Indigenous People Of North America: Part One
- Community Health And Restorative Practices
- The New York Times
- Restorative Justice: Changing the Lens
- D.C. Prosecutors, Once Dubious, Are Becoming Believers In Restorative Justice
- Restorative Justice Has The D.C. Attorney General’s Office Looking At Prosecutions In A New Light
RESOURCES
External Reading & Information
Division Contact
Emmanuelle Fahey
Restorative Justice Coordinator
- (520) 724-5521
- Emmanuelle.fahey@Pcao.pima.gov
- If you are a reporter looking to gather general information for a story, on a deadline or for background, email media@pcao.pima.gov or call Shawndrea Thomas (520) 724-5738