Welcome to our Web Site!
The San Diego Restorative Justice Mediation Program seeks to prevent
the spiral of crime among juveniles in San Diego County through Victim-Offender Mediation and
community training and involvement. Our program works at all levels of offense?the courts,
the Probation department, the police and sheriffs, and schools and school districts.
We are especially interested in helping those who are on the path to delinquency?they have not yet committed a crime,
but their activities suggest to the adults around them that they may be headed in that direction.
Early intervention is crucial. To that end, we are developing special projects in schools and communities.
We are continuing a project with the Juvenile Court Restitution Committee.
The project involves juvenile offenders who commit crimes against an entity?a school, utility, business, or municipality.
These crimes would include vandalism (such as graffiti), burglary, even stealing cable TV.
RJMP will mediate these cases using Victim-Offender (VORP) mediation, and restitution will be a part of the mediation agreement.
Restitution may include money paid to the victim entity, or in-kind service to the victim entity.
For example, a student from a high school in South Bay ended up washing school busses for a day to make restitution for tagging a restroom at the school.
Using VORP in these cases will help the juvenile offenders recognize the harm that they have done,
and also alleviate the financial burden of the parents, who are liable to pay restitution that is often beyond their means.
It helps the entities, also?they get some restitution quickly rather than small payments over a long period of time.
The need for our Program is not in dispute. In recent years, an average 50 juveniles were arrested
every day in San Diego County (SANDAG). Over the course of a year, that amounts to over 17,000 minors
entering into an overburdened juvenile court system. And, with tighter budgets at all levels of government,
that means more work and more stress for teachers, police, and probation officers. Right now, we offer our
mediation services to these officials free of charge.
In early July of 2010, mediators trained by RJMP assisted in a Community Forum in Ocean Beach sponsored by
the faith community. Most San Diegans are aware of the recent tensions in OB regarding the Homeless. The Forum was the first in a
series of meetings where residents, business owners, and the Homeless are invited to sit down and speak with each other respectfully,
in a Restorative method called a ?Peace Circle.?
The next training for mediators will be offered in early October of 2010. Contact us now to reserve your spot.
We are always looking for good volunteers for our office in Normal Heights, along with people who can help us
with publicity materials?brochures, flyers, and the like.
San Diego remains the only major city in California that does not support a vibrant Restorative Justice or
Victim Offender Reconciliation Program. We want to change that. This is undoubtedly a challenge?and the
kind of challenge that gets me excited. Please join us as we keep kids out of jail by preventing the
spiral of crime and making more peaceful communities.
Peace to you,
Ben Conarroe
Executive Director
director@sdrjmp.org
