Why does alaska use circle sentencing

In this way, the community monitoring itself—an important requirement for life in remote parts of Alaska. Termination Criteria Offenders who are found not to be complying with the sentencing circle are sent back to state court for sentencing. Celebration Circles are held not only when people are in trouble. The program also has an important role in bringing the community together to celebrate its accomplishments. For example, the Circle Peacemaking Program will hold a circle for someone who has achieved sobriety.

The Circle Peacemaking Program operates on a volunteer basis. Rather, it must come from the hearts of community members willing to invest in one another. Since its inception, the Kake program has been at the forefront of reintroducing peacemaking into tribal court systems in the United States.

It has provided technical assistance to numerous other tribes seeking to reintroduce traditional forms of conflict resolution, including other Alaskan communities such as Haines, Sitka, and the Juvenile Justice Center in Anchorage. Drawing on Tlingit culture: A major reason for the success of the Circle Peacemaking Program has been the enthusiasm of Kake community members to incorporate Tlingit culture into the justice system.

Limited resources in the state system: Kake and other remote parts of Alaska have long been faced with a lack of resources provided by the state justice system. The Circle Peacemaking Program offered a meaningful response to this challenge and has made itself an invaluable part of the community.

Kake does not have enough local services to assist participants with issues like as drug addiction, domestic violence, or anger management. Progress takes time: One of the most significant lessons learned through the Circle Peacemaking Program is that progress takes time and patience.

In its first four years of operation, the Circle Peacemaking Program served 80 young people and over 60 adults. Since then, issues with law enforcement have made it more difficult to set up circles. In the last two years, the Village Public Safety Officer has been more open to referring cases to the program and will even participate in circles.

In , there were two circles per year for adults and one for juveniles. The program has had remarkably high rates of completion and has been successful in reducing recidivism and encouraging participants to enter drug and alcohol treatment programs.

Over 97 percent of adult participants 66 out of 68 have complied with their consensus agreements. The program has also been effective in reinvigorating Tlingit culture and cultural values in Kake. The Circle Peacemaking Program enjoys strong community support.

Village residents now comment on the perceptible difference in their community since the program was introduced. The Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court has visited Kake to observe the program and has spoken positively about it in his State of the Judiciary addresses. Reducing recidivism: The Circle Peacemaking Program has observed a reduction in recidivism among participants. In contrast to conventional state court sentencing, peacemaking circles offer offenders the support and encouragement of fellow community members, a voice in resolving their own cases, and ongoing monitoring.

Two out of 68 reoffended. High rates of completion: During its first four years of operation, 78 of the 80 youth referred to the Circle Peacemaking Program completed the program and complied with their circle-imposed sentence—a 97 percent success rate. Further, all of the 24 young people assigned to peacemaking for underage drinking successfully completed the program and complied with the terms of their sentences.

Encouraging treatment: The Circle Peacemaking Program has also been successful in encouraging its participants to address their substance abuse problems. But with the support of the peacemaking circle, she was able to complete her treatment, return home, and regain custody of her children.

Positive impact on peacemaking volunteers: The Circle Peacemaking Program is also having a positive impact on its volunteer peacemakers. Several peacemakers have enrolled in trade school or college to continue their formal education. One peacemaker got a degree in criminal justice and works as a professional counselor at the Native clinic in Juno.

This focus has reportedly led to a renewed interest in Tlingit culture among tribal youth. It also helps people turn to culture for support and as inspiration for staying sober. Jump to: navigation , search. Categories : Terms and definitions Restorative justice. Voter information What's on my ballot? Where do I vote? How do I register to vote? How do I request a ballot? When do I vote? When are polls open? Who Represents Me? The process is now used throughout North America and in other parts of the world for both juvenile and adult offenders and in a wide variety of offences and settings.

As with the restorative processes of mediation and conferencing, circles provide a space for encounter between the victim and the offender, but it moves beyond that to involve the community in the decision making process. Depending on the model being used, the community participants may range from justice system personnel to anyone in the community concerned about the crime.

Everyone present, the victim, victim's family, the offender, offender's family, and community representatives are given a voice in the proceedings. Participants typically speak as they pass a "talking piece" around the circle. The process is value driven. Primarily, it is designed to bring healing and understanding to the victim and the offender.

Reinforcing this goal of healing is the empowerment of the community to be involved in deciding what is to be done in the particular case and to address underlying problems that may have led to the crime. In reaching these goals, the circle process builds on the values of respect, honesty, listening, truth, sharing, and others.

Participation in the circle is voluntary. The victim must agree to attend without any form of coercion. Especially for the native communities, it is important for the offender to have deep roots in the community. Each circle is led by a "keeper", who directs the movement of the talking piece.

Only the person holding the object is allowed to speak, ensuring that each person has an opportunity to be heard. As the talking piece makes the rounds of the circle, the group discusses different topics. In addressing the crime, participants describe how they feel.