A Community Conference is a meeting of the entire community of people affected by a crime or conflict, that allows them to decide for themselves how to best repair the harm and prevent it from happening again. Everyone gets a chance to speak and be heard, and in doing so a greater sense of understanding and connection is created. A conference gives those who have caused harm a chance to understand the impact of their behavior on others, on themselves, and on the community. Those who have been harmed get a chance to tell how they have been affected and how the damage can be repaired. In addition, families can identify and gain access to needed community-based resources.

Philosophy & Principles

• Holds people accountable for their actions
• Provides immediate response to harmful behavior
• Highly participatory – in criminal cases, victims, offenders, and their supporters are included
• Allows those affected to decide how to best repair harm
• Builds community cohesion
• Provides a proven, effective structure to build individual and collective efficacy 

Impact

• Recidivism reduced by 60% in young offenders compared with comparable juvenile justice cases
• Cost effective (1/10 the cost of current criminal justice/disciplinary practices)
• Victims are included in deciding outcomes, and are satisfied that “justice was served”
• Reduces minority over-representation in criminal justice system
• Keeps students in school and accountable for their actions
• Mobilizes community to collectively take responsibility for public safety issues.
• Truly builds social capital
• Families have opportunity to identify their own needs and gain access to community-based resources for challenges that may have helped precipitate the harmful behavior to begin with. 

Uses of Community Conferencing

• Juvenile justice -- Community-based diversion in cases of undisputed harm
• Schools -- Alternative to suspension, truancy, authoritative response to harm
• Neighborhoods -- Ongoing and intractable conflicts
• Criminal justice -- Court diversion; Multiple charges/counter charges
• Human services -- Case management (initial coordination of family and providers); Family violence; Re-entry into families/communities after incarceration

Research

• Recidivism rates are 60% lower for youth who participated in a Community Conference when compared with comparable juvenile justice cases. (Community Conferencing Center, 2004)

Other research reports on conferencing can be accessed at the following sites:

www.agd.nsw.gov.au/bocsar1.nsf/pages/pub_utoz#youth_justice_conferencing
www.iirp.org/library/index.html (bibliography with abstracts)
http://ssw.che.umn.edu/rjp/ (bibliography with abstracts)
www.aic.gov.au/rjustice/rise/working/index.html
www.hudson.org/files/publications/Restoring_Justice_Report.pdf