Developing Restorative Juvenile Justice in Peru
In Peru, the majority of juvenile offenders are incarcerated, even in cases of petty crime, with close to 68% having sentences of three years or less. This is true despite the inclusion of alternative sentences such as community service and remission of the sentence in the penal code. To address this reality the Switzerland-based NGO Terre des Hommes designed and implemented a pilot project called Justicia Para Crecer to introduce concepts of restorative justice. Partners in this project include the Peruvian NGO Encuentros –Casa de la Juventud and different government entities in the areas of el Agostino and Chiclayo.
According to the Encuentros website, Justicia Para Crecer seeks to:
Create a model of restorative justice, in which adolescents in conflict with the law receive an efficient defense from the time of arrest through the court process that favors the application of socio-educational measures in an open environment oriented toward promoting reparation of the victim and reestablishing the relationships of the juvenile to the community1.
The programme consists of two teams who respond to the arrest of a juvenile offender. The first, the “immediate defense team,” is comprised of a lawyer, a psychologist and a social worker responsible for ensuring that the rights of the child are respected. This team evaluates the case to prepare a pre-sentencing report for the judge recommending remission of the sentence, alternative sanctions or incarceration. The second team, the Education Follow-up Team, works assist the young offenders in establishing goals to foster responsibility and develop skills to rebuild relationships with both family and community members.
The programme implements victim-offender mediation to involve the victim in the justice process and develop agreements for repairing the harm. The idea is to help young offenders understand the harm caused by their crimes, to involve the victim in the process, and to work toward the development of good relationships in the community. A story from the project's online journal tells about the use of mediation in response to juvenile offending:
A 17-year old male was arrested for inflicting moderate injuries on another teenager. Upon arrest the young offender was held in a juvenile detention centre where he attended different workshops etc. The immediate defense team from Justicia Para Crecer worked with the courts and the young man’s family to have him released from preventative detention. This allowed him to work to help support his family, attend meetings related to the project, and participate in victim offender mediation. Through the encounter with his victim, the young man assumed responsibility for the injuries that he caused and agreed to pay for the medical expenses that the victim incurred due to the assault.
From January through December 2005, the Justicia Para Crecer project teams assisted a total of 125 young offenders with a defense that allowed them to avoid preventative detention. Of those, 74 participated in activities such as mediation in order to take responsibility for their harm and make amends.
The Justicia Para Crecer pilot project is scheduled to run through the end of 2007. It includes training for prosecutors, judges, and other officials working in juvenile justice. The ultimate goal is to expand the application of restorative juvenile justice throughout the country.
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Notes:
1. Author’s translation. Original found online at http://www.encuentroscj.org/proyecto06b.html
Resources Used:
Proyecto Piloto de Justicia Juvenil Restaurativa. 2005. Informe técnico ejecutivo. Enero-Diciembre 2005.
Salazar, Olga. 2006. Colaborando con la justicia en libertad. Justicia Para Crecer. Revista Especializada en Justicia Juvenil Restaurativa. Numero 4, Octubre-Diciember de 2006. pp.18-19.
Encuentros-Casa de La Juventud. Proyectos.
Mittrany, Carola. 2005. Peru’s Pilot Project in Restorative Justice for Offending Teens, a bid for less jail time. Comunidad Segura.
Lynette Parker
July 2007
