WHAT IS CIRCLE SENTENCING?
WHEN DOES CIRCLE SENTENCING TAKE PLACE?
-(Liles, 2001; The UN, 2006)
- Circle sentencing involves the victim, offender, their families, and members of the community
- Legal professionals such as a judge, lawyers, and police officers may or may not be present depending upon the nature of the crime and the individual communities
- Usually 15-50 participants
- Participants sit facing each other in a circle, sometimes one member directs the conversation and sits in the middle
- Participants discuss the circumstances and impacts that the offence has had on the community, offender, and victim
- Participants try to come to a complete census as to the best way to resolve the conflicts that have been created because of the crime
- Protection of the community, needs of the victims, and rehabilitation of the offender are all highly valued and taken into account in the discussion
- May result in a criminal conviction with formal sanctions, but often leads to a community-based sentence with supervision and intense programming
WHEN DOES CIRCLE SENTENCING TAKE PLACE?
- Used for most serious cases, not minor offences due to the long process and significant commitment from participants
- Usually only available to offenders who plead guilty
- Can either happen before a formal trial, where the decision reached within the circle is passed onto a judge, who takes this into account while sentencing, or used as an alternative to a formal trial, where the decision reached within the circle is considered the offender's official sentence
-(Liles, 2001; The UN, 2006)
4 Stages in the Circle Sentencing Process
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The fundamental principle of circle sentencing is that the sentence is less important than the process that is taken and used to arrive at said sentence
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Topics Discussed During Circle Sentencing
-(Liles, 2001)
- Have similar crimes taken place in the community?
- Mitigating factors surrounding the crime
- The impact of the crime on the victim, community, and offender
- Can precautionary measures be implemented to prevent similar crimes from re-occuring (by both the offender and other youth)?
- What steps need to be taken to heal the victim, community, and the offender?
- The best plan of action to resolve the conflicts and issues created because of the crime
- Who will be involved in supporting the offender and victims while they carry out the plan?
- Dates to follow-up and re-meet to evaluate the plan's progress
-(Liles, 2001)