Philosophies, Procedures of the Balanced

¶ … philosophies, procedures of the Balanced Approach to Restorative Justice and how it is applied within the Juvenile Justice System in Pennsylvania

The BARJ in Pennsylvania

This paper is going to provide detailed information about the BARJ applied within the territory of Pennsylvania. In order to do this, I am going to explain what this approach involves, its philosophies, its procedures and the way it is applied in Pennsylvania.

In the first place, I must make clear the fact that the initials BARJ stand for the Balanced Approach to Restorative Justice, which Pennsylvania and other states have adopted in order to improve the activity of their Juvenile Justice System. This method is the result of continuous high violent juvenile criminal acts which have covered a period of 5 years, before introducing it. BARJ was provided by the Act 33 of special session number 1, in November 1995. It states that the goal of the Juvenile Justice System is "to provide for children committing delinquent acts programs of supervision, care and rehabilitation which provide balanced attention to the protection of the community, the imposition of accountability for offenses committed and the development of competencies to enable children to become responsible and productive members of the community" Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ).

In order to depict and understand better all the ideas that BARJ implies, we should consider the following: we know that there are three distinct persons affected by a criminal act. These three are: the culprit, the victim and the community. In order to establish what a delinquent child means, we should note the following aspects:

1) He should be ten or more than ten years old

2) He should be found guilty by the court of having committed a delinquent act

3) His sanction should be treatment, rehabilitation or supervision.

After establishing the features of a delinquent, we can refer to the actions which regard him. Thus, a juvenile delinquent can avoid a court process. This decision is taken by a probation officer or another officer of the court after taking into consideration all the facts involved. "When a probation officer opts for an informal adjustment, there is no finding of guilt or innocence if the terms of the adjustment are complied with. An informal adjustment typically lasts for six months. If the juvenile successfully complies with the terms of the informal adjustment, the petition and charges are withdrawn. If, prior to the termination of the informal adjustment period, the juvenile is arrested on new charges, or otherwise violates the terms of the informal adjustment, the state may file a delinquency petition and initiate court proceedings. If the juvenile has made any incriminating statements in the informal adjustment process, however, those statements are privileged and cannot be used against him or her in any juvenile court proceedings" Pennsylvania's Juvenile Justice System.

The BARJ method is trying to improve the life of both the culprit and the victim. So as to understand it better, we should explain each notion that it comprises. Therefore, at every moment of his life, a person seeks the equilibrium state. In the case of community welfare, there is also a need for a balanced situation. Consequently, the policies should be designed and, furthermore, implemented with of view to offering an objective analysis of the juridical matters. Thus, the resources should be assigned in accordance with the needs and no client's interests should prevail over another one's.

Taking into consideration the other term "restorative," we can depict several aspects. Because of the fact that a crime is an act which disturbs the natural course of life within the community, BARJ introduces the Restorative principle. This implies the idea of getting the community to its initial state, restoring the security within the city.

The BARJ project has been implemented in at least 24 states. Among these, three of them have been considered major sites of constant and decisive implementation of the method. These are: Dakota County, Minnesota; West Palm Beach County, Florida and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Through this program, training is being offered at regional roundtables and at conferences which are aimed to improve the juvenile justice system. In addition to that, there are a BARJ Update newsletter and a technical assistance packet. Due to the increasing attention paid to this beneficial approach, "important future tasks for the BARJ Project will be to continue the development of the model, including an implementation guide, a structured BARJ curriculum, and additional trainers and technical assistance providers on the BARJ model" Balanced and Restorative Justice Project (BARJ).

Taking into consideration the juvenile offenders, they should be capable of making a real progress by being integrated in the BARJ system. They should be developing both their educational and professional skills. Thus, through their active involvement they should be helping the other inhabitants of the community. "It is intended that juvenile offenders will develop an understanding of the consequences of their behavior and develop as well an increased sense of competency and self-esteem through exposure to and interaction with positive adult role models" New Roles in the Balanced Approach in Pennsylvania.

There are five principles used in Pennsylvania in relation to the BARJ perspective. These are the following: offender accountability, competency development, community protection, balance and individualization. "As the primary sanctioning goal in BARJ, Offender Accountability refers specifically to the requirement that offenders "make amends" for the harm resulting from their crimes by repaying or restoring losses to victims and the community. Competency Development, the rehabilitative goal for intervention, requires that youth who enter the juvenile justice system should exit the system more capable of being productive and responsible in the community. The Community Protection goal explicitly acknowledges and endorses a long time public expectation- a safe and secure community" Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ).

Individualization refers to the fact that in the case of each individual there is a collection of factors which have led him to this conduct. Therefore, the system's response should conform to each of the offenders' particularities.

As a support for the BARJ method, about $2 million were granted so as to develop the system and launch more effective and efficient programs. These funds were received through the federal Drug Control and System Improvement (DCSI) program. One of the initiatives funded was a statewide forum held in January 1996 by the Center for Juvenile Justice Training and Research (CJJTR). Its goal was to raise awareness about BARJ. Additionally, several 21/2-day round tables and a two-part conference organized by the Somerset County Probation Department have been held. This conference was called "Preparing for the New Millenium." "Held in April and May 1997, this series of discussions focused primarily on change management skills. Twenty-three teams representing over 200 individuals from counties, organizations, agencies, or state departments attended the second conference" New Roles in the Balanced Approach in Pennsylvania. Other institutions which have been created in order to serve for the implementation of BARJ are: the Juvenile Advisory Committee (JAC), the Juvenile Court Judges' Commission (JCJC), the Council of Chief Juvenile Probation Officers, the Balanced Approach Implementation Committee and the Victims' Services Advisory Committee (VSAC).

In order to evaluate the results of this new approach, the Pennsylvania- based National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) took into consideration the outcomes from 13 counties located in Pennsylvania. As a concrete example of the implementation of BARJ, we can mention LAVORP (The Lancaster Area Victim Offender Project). As its name reveals, it is located in Lancaster County. Its scope is to bring together both the offender and his victim. They speak about the negative results of the crime, they establish the sum of money which should be paid to the victim and in which manner will this be done. The offender may be obliged to do some community work also, but this will not hinder his scholar activity. The job can be done after school or whenever it is best for that person. By giving him the chance to lead a normal life in comparison with all the children his age, the offender will have less reasons to commit another misdeed.