I had the opportunity to attend two very interesting conferences the last weekend of April. They were both part of several years commitment I had made.

Ten years ago, I attended the first Meeting of the BC Probation Officer's Association. I have managed to attend several since then. Several of us felt that the profession of Probation Officer deserved the attention of an association of like-minded persons. We always had communication challenges: Gradually Government E-mail began to simplify that. But I think the Association made some very important contributions. However, there is a lot more to do.

Four and a half years ago, I was a founding member of the Chilliwack Restorative Justice and Youth Diversion Association (CRJDYA). The Mayor at the time was John Les, (now an MLA) and he was particularly disturbed by the threat of the Provincial Government that they were going to shut down the Chilliwack Courthouse and send all our cases to either Abbotsford or Hope. He agreed that if the Municipal government displayed an interest in Justice matters, it may strengthen our desire to keep a Court house.

Meanwhile, The Stó:lô people got a HUGE federal Grant to start a Family Conferencing program, which they called Qwi:Qwelstòm. They do not see eye to eye with CRJDYA and consider it competition.

How IRONIC! Chilliwack succeeded in not only keeping its' courthouse, but in funding an impressive new Courthouse: looking quite like a modern version of a pagan Greek Temple. At the same time, the Restorative Justice Program has been widely accepted in the community and across the Province and even the Nation. With only one half time paid staff and an assortment of university practicum students and United Way placements, the corps of 25 volunteers have handled over 500 first time young offenders in the past four years.. They got a federal grant to publish a manual: how to operate a Restorative Justice Program, and it has influenced the growth of other organizations around the province and even across Canada.

For the second time, the Chilliwack Restorative Justice Association has hosted a province wide Conference. The first gathering two years ago attracted less than 50 people from all around the province including the Yukon, but they PAID their OWN WAY. This time, Wendy Taylor (a former PO) of the Public Safety and Solicitor General's ministry came up with a grant to pay tuition and expenses. 150 persons were registered, and about 40 other persons came and went during the weekend.

As Chairman of the Association I had to give a welcoming speech to the Assembled Restorative Justice Delegates Saturday morning. I had planned to leave immediately for the Probation officer's AGM Saturday morning. But when I went to get in my car, I discovered that I had become a VICTIM overnight! While I had been sleeping, some drunken kids had smashed my windows and tried to steal my CD player. They were scared off by neighbors. Ironically, I had a bag given to me at the Registration desk with the words "Restorative Justice Perspectives" emblazoned on the side. How ironic to see it covered with shattered glass!!

 I paused to reflect if I really wanted Restorative Justice or the satisfying pleasure of wringing the little scoundrel's necks! But I managed to get to the Retreat and make some mundane remarks. Then Sgt. John Ward, RCMP E Division (All BC) got up and told the delegates how pleased the RCMP were with their work.

After hassling all morning with ICBC, I attended workshops while the repairshop fixed my car.

There was lots of excitement and idealistic enthusiasm at the Retreat. Mary Anne Arcand of Punky Lake had an excellent presentation on First Nations issues. There is still a lot of confusion about conferences: New Zealand family style, Australian, and Sentencing circles vs healing circles etc. No one agrees which is the best or which is truly traditional. But Accountability panels like Chilliwack, which is based on Lola Chapman's program in Maple Ridge were definitely seen as not being PURE Restorative Justice. Someone (A first Nations Elder) cynically remarked that perhaps we should start a new Ministry of Restorative Justice. There was talk about the differences between Restorative Justice, Restorative practices (a term which the First Nations People like better) and Transformative Justice (the Australian variety).

Judge Brent Hoy gave an informative talk about the upcoming changes in the Canadian Youth Criminal Justice Act. He was of the opinion that the Court could refer to a Restorative Justice program at several stages during the court procedure: pre charge, post charge, pre trial and post trial (and even pre-release from Custody). I spoke up and told everyone that probation officers were being trained to set up those conferences with ministry and contracted professionals. Needless to say, no one was impressed. The general feeling was that they are on the cusp of a new trend in justice that would cure all of society's ills. AND that volunteers could do a better job of it than paid professionals. During lunch, they shared shoptalk. Representatives from various communities had tackled every kind of crime but murder. Not just shoplifters, but burglars, car thieves, counterfeiters, arsonists, bullies and drug users have been handled by various Restorative Justice Groups. The native folk had even had success with sex offenders.

Results of recent research didn't phase them. Wendy Taylor did a workshop on how to design a program that could be researched and many groups had already utilized local college students to do some evaluation research. The word recidivism was being re-discussed and debated by the masses. The body of data is growing exponentially: Professor Don Andrews will be busy trying to figure out What REALLY works. McCold and Wachtel of the International Institute for Restorative Practises have presented some pretty convincing research that Restorative Justice Conferencing is far more effective than traditional means of dealing with Crime. They looked at subjective factors such as satisfaction and perceived fairness. Yvon Dandurand, who is a Professor of Criminology, U.C.F.V. and a representative from the United Nations addressed the delegates and he said two interesting things:

a.. "Whenever I travel around the world and talk about our Canadian system, people aren't interested in Risk/Needs Analysis, Cognitive Behavioral Restructuring, or other Criminological breakthroughs! All they want to know about is Sentencing Circles'!"

b.. "In some Countries, like the former Soviet Union, they aren't interested in learning about Restorative Justice: They say" We are doing Restorative Justice: We now have Probation Officers."

So there you have it. Probation is considered by some as Restorative Justice. I arrived at the BCPOA convention to hear Probation Officers talking about how much fun it was to drink and gamble in the casino. They were also bewailing the poor turnout! There was a lot of discussion about the definition of a probation officer, and who our association should include. Management has begun to water down what is a probation officer. Youth Justice Consultants, Analysts, Probation Interviewers, Client supervisors, Intensive Support Workers, Forensic addictions workers PO 14's -- who the hell knows what a probation officer is anymore?

I must admit that we haven't been very successful at our public relations image. Some think we are just liberal bleeding hearts. We are so worried about confidentiality that what we are doing is largely mis understood by the public. We work behind closed doors in secrecy. Furthermore, by excluding victims, and the friends and family of the offenders, they are able to keep problems private and revel in their denial. Personally, I get irritated when school teachers refer to me as a Youth PAROLE Officer. I have to explain the difference between probation and parole. Then there are those who want to know if I work out of Mountain Institution or Matsqui. I have to explain that I chase after the little hooligans who live in their neighborhood and they are supposed to report to me in my office. They don't understand what difference that makes. They wonder if we are Truant officers. (oh my deflated ego!!) Even at the Retreat, some people kept referring to us as probations officers. (where do they get the plural?). But what really got my goat was my friend who came along with me to Penticton. He is a postal worker, and he kept referring to me as a BAILIFF!!! What an insult! I have had run-ins with Bailiffs and they are nothing but paid, legal goons! To think that we are being confused with those jerks! Harumph! (And he had the nerve to ask if I could "FIX" his speeding ticket!)

Furthermore, advocates of Restorative Justice seem to think that doing community service and reparation work is a brand new idea. The truth is, Probation Officers have been arranging that for years! (However, In Alberta, they have finally given up on Community Hours). Furthermore, everyone seems to think that victims are totally neglected in the regular Court process. When I went to Probation Officer school under the sage tutelage of that grand old man Derek Newton, I was taught to add a Victim Impact section to every Pre-Sentence Report. It takes time to really get a victim to open up and say how it really affected them. But with a little patience, they will go beyond quoting their financial losses and tell you how they really feel. Every victim I have spoken to say that they appreciated the opportunity to have some input. Occasionally, they say they have submitted a victim impact statement to Crown. However, those statements often get overlooked or they are only briefly summarized in Court. Whenever I talk to a victim, I always ask the victims what they think should happen and if they would like a written or personal apology. It never ceases to amaze me how seldom victims suggest jail. The general concern is that something be done so these persons don't reoffend. The times I have arranged face to face apologies have been very powerful and had a tremendous positive impact on both the victim and the offender. The only problem is that it is time consuming to prepare a victim and an offender for this meeting, and there is no SPT credit for it.

 In my opinion, The Restorative Justice Movement is at its' root, a movement to replace paid professionals with volunteers. Volunteers, whether facilitating a conference or sitting on an accountability panel are not viewed as part of "the establishment". I know that kids respond more readily to a volunteer mentor than a paid probation officer or contracted service. We all enjoy the income and job security that we get from working as a probation officers. But most of us do not consider it merely a job: it is a career, a calling, a vocation. It doesn’t take clients long to figure out that we really are concerned about them. We need to spread the message that we also care about the victims that our clients have hurt.

The late Ruth Morris of Toronto was a well-known prison abolitionist. Her definition of Restorative Justice was:

As a probation Officer, I don't have a problem with that statement. However, volunteers and prison abolitionists don't have any resources to protect the public when the offender simply is unwilling or unable to recognize the damage they have and will cause. Prison Bars, leg irons, plexiglas windows, and other physical restraints have been used in Victim/offender meetings. Furthermore, the Restorative Justice contract or agreement is only successful if the offender participates. Over my years as a PO, I have run into people who simply don't want to cooperate (surprise, surprise). Then I need the levers of the old court system to get them headed in the right direction. (Lever numbers 26, 50, 145, 524 and 733)

I recently called a conference together at a school for a boy who had assaulted his drug addicted mother when she fell off the wagon. Even her Adult PO was there. The boy was suicidal and had been taken into care, so there was a social worker, mental health and school counselors, teachers, Teacher assistants and principal. We came up with a plan that was agreed to and signed in front of the whole group. But he knows that if he doesn't cooperate, we are back to square one and going to Court.

In his President's report David Thackray noted that when he decided to become a probation Officer, an uncle told him that he had chosen a "noble Profession". I wonder how many of the public know enough about what we do to consider what we do as NOBLE? As a Professional association, we are concerned that we be seen a professionals, not just another arm of the union. As a profession, we serve two different ministries with management that seems to be going in very differing directions. But what we all have in common is that we are officers of the Court, and as one Judge put it: "Probation officers are the eyes and ears of the Court." We are not just on the side of Crown, and we are not always on the side of Defense. We are "go-boys" for the Judge. In the past, British Columbia Judges have admired and respected us. We must not lose that trust. I suggest that we work harder to cultivate our friendship and understanding of the Bench. Perhaps we need to invite more of them to our conferences or invite ourselves to some of their professional development.

Criminals generate funding, and there are all sorts of interventions and programs that we can throw at our clients if they score high enough on the Risk Needs. But we need to maintain the balanced view; that the offender should not get all the attention and programming while the victim is left with nothing. In this era of diminishing public resources, that is an injustice that we must make an effort to correct.

It was ironic (or was it a Freudian slip? ) that both the provincial Restorative Justice Retreat and the BC Probation Officer's Conference had identical Themes: "Where We are Now and Where We are Going " I think it is time for Probation Officers around the province to examine themselves. We need a renewed sense of Mission, of commitment and see our work as a calling, a vocation. We need to work on the popular conception that PO's only serve the needs of the offenders while ignoring their victims. We need to harness the power of each offenders' "Caring Community of support" --not just send in some paid experts to fix them. There is a movement out there quite willing to replace us. If we don't band together and support each other, we may wake up to find out were we are going: the same place the dinosaurs went.

 Barry Neufeld