Justice committees in Aboriginal communities: A study of community capacities

Abstract

In the last twenty years there has been a growing desire to devolve justice interventions to the level of the community. An example of one such initiative is the justice committee program, an extrajudicial program set up in a number of Canadian communities to address minor youth cases, and cases involving Aboriginal people. This thesis is a capacity assessment of justice committees in Aboriginal communities in Quebec. With the help of literature on restorative community justice, crime prevention and building sustainable community programs, this thesis explores the recommended capacities for the implementation of sustainable justice committees, as well as the capacities perceived to be currently available to some justice committees in Aboriginal communities in Quebec. Through personal observations gathered during my work with justice committees in the past and interviews with various individuals working closely with justice committees in Quebec, this thesis found that a number of capacities were either lacking or were sporadically available to the communities studied. It concludes that with a common vision of the program's purpose, careful consideration of a community's ability to effectively intervene, and increased collaboration, resources and training; justice committees will be more likely to be implemented in a sustainable manner.