Sample Community Conferencing Cases
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 just 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.
