Community Conferencing Stories
Egg Throwing Incident
Three 11 year-old boys, Billy, Jack, and Mike, lived with their parents at the same apartment complex. One hot summer’s day they had nothing to do and decided to throw raw eggs at a neighbor’s car to see what would happen. Some maintenance men saw them and notified the manager of the complex. When the neighbor, Ms. Jones, came out of her apartment and saw the (now-cooked) eggs on her car, she attempted to wash them off. She realized it was too late and that the paint on the hood of her new car had been permanently damaged. She called the police. The boys were arrested and charged with destruction of property. The Department of Juvenile Services referred the case for a community conference.
At the community conference the boys said that at the time they were just having some fun and didn’t think it was a big deal. They admitted throwing eggs at Ms. Jones’ car. They were frightened when they were arrested. Billy and his mother tried to wash Ms. Jones’ car to get rid of the stain, but they couldn’t. Ms. Jones said that she had tried to have the stain buffed out, but it didn’t work. She had then gotten a written estimate to have the hood repainted. She was seeking $100 for the buffing job and $600 for the paint job.
When asked how they had been affected by the incident, the parents said they were embarrassed. They said they had tried to be good neighbors and then this happened. They wanted to make it right. Everyone agreed that Ms. Jones would be paid $600 for the paint job, with each set of parents providing $200. (Ms. Jones had told them to forget about the $100 she paid for the buffing.) The boys would repay their parents by doing extra work around the house, foregoing birthday or holiday gifts, or taking money from their personal savings. The boys apologized to Ms. Jones and said they would never throw eggs at a car or go near anyone’s car or private property again, unless they were invited to do so.
Tire Slashing Incident
Tom, Tim, and Ted, all aged 15, slashed the tires of several neighborhood cars one night. The next day, after hearing the story, a friend of theirs notified the police and the boys were arrested and charged with destruction of property. The Department of Juvenile Services referred the case for a community conference. The boys and their families were very interested in trying a conference, and most of the car owners were, too. There was one car owner, Mr. Johnson, who was not interested in going to the conference, saying that the boys should “go to jail or wherever they put juvenile delinquents now.” Mr. Johnson’s 30 year old son was also affected by the incident and said he would go.
On the night of the conference over a dozen people showed up, including the boys and their families and all the neighbors whose tires were slashed. The boys told their stories about what happened that night: they were bored and wanted to have some fun. Then, the car owners started talking. Mr. Johnson was one of the first to talk. He said that his son had convinced him to come, and he repeated his assertion that the boys should go to jail.
Another neighbor, Dr. Smith, told his story of waking up early that morning because he had surgery scheduled at a hospital about a half hour away. When he approached his car and saw that two tires had been slashed, he realized that he wouldn’t be able to get to the hospital in time to perform the surgery. He called and had the surgery postponed. Dr. Smith said that in spite of this, he didn’t want the boys to go to a juvenile detention center because of the incident. He said that he did some stupid things when he was 15 and that he had learned from his mistakes. He wanted the boys to learn from theirs.
Dr. Smith’s story changed the tone of the conference. All the neighbors who had their tires slashed, including Mr. Johnson, began working toward a resolution. In the end it was agreed that the parents of the boys would reimburse the neighbors for the costs of repairing or replacing the tires and that the boys would repay their parents by working around the house. The boys apologized to the neighbors. Everyone, including Mr. Johnson, shook hands on the deal and wished the boys well.
Bus Incident
After getting off a school bus together, Susan pushed Fatima to the ground and starting kicking her. Passersby called police and Susan was arrested for second degree assault. Fatima was taken to the hospital, treated, and released. She had some minor cuts and bruises, but no major injuries.
The Department of Juvenile Services referred the case to CRCMC for a community conference. The girls and their parents came to the conference, where they learned that Susan had been calling Fatima names while they were riding the bus. When they got off, Fatima was so mad she pushed Susan to the ground and started kicking her. Fatima apologized to Susan for kicking her, and Susan apologized to Fatima for calling her names. Susan’s mother said that Fatima should pay $50 toward the co-pay for the hospital. Fatima’s mother said that she could work around the house and earn the money. Everyone agreed to the arrangement, and Susan’s mother said that she would use the $50 to take both girls out to dinner so that they could re-establish their friendship.
