Katy Hutchison's Biography:
Katy resides in Victoria, BC. She moved back to Vancouver Island sixteen years ago, following the murder of her husband Bob McIntosh. In the course of dealing with the legal issues surrounding Bob's death, she met and married lawyer Michael Hutchison.

After Bob's murder on New Year's Eve 1997 Katy waited for five years while the police worked tirelessly to obtain the evidence to prosecute and convict his killers. During that period, Katy developed her perception of the societal forces and lack of understanding amongst young people that created the circumstances leading to Bob's death. She grew to recognize the need to advise and educate young members of the community about the risks that arise with the combination of young people, alcohol, and a lack of supervision.

Katy currently divides her time between working with her husband Michael in his law practice and her professional speaking career. She sits on the Board of Glenlyon Norfolk School and sat on the Board of Restorative Practices International.

Her book (shown at right) entitled Walking After Midnight: One Woman's Journey Through Murder, Justice and Forgiveness is published in Canada by Raincoast Books and in the US by New Harbinger Publications

In 2010 Katy's powerful story inspired Lifetime Network's movie Bond of Silence

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Melinda Sonnen, CADC, is with the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections and recently was a featured presenter at the NW Justice Forum, an annual event held in the Northwestern U.S. Her interactive session descriptions are (and will be part of what we cover in this broadcast):

Offender Victim Awareness Competency Development:

Workshop participants will learn about Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections Victim Awareness Offender Competency Development Curriculum. One essential component of rehabilitation is for juveniles to understand the effects their behaviors and choices have on others, and then to care enough about
those effects to alter their behavior. Without victim awareness, we find that adjusting behavior for juveniles is difficult and short lived. As part of the
Victim Empathy Curriculum at JCC-L, juveniles are required to complete the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections - Victim Awareness Journal (created for Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections by The Change Company). Juveniles at JCC-L also participate in the "Victim Impact Listen and Learn" curriculum from U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs.

Developing Community Support Systems for Juvenile Justice Youth in Transition from Correctional Confinement: Individuals that are released back into the community after confinement will need support in: setting appropriate goals; creating structure in their lives; making healthy decisions; staying away from risky situations and people; and, learning to ask for help and then accepting the help that is provided. Support Networks assist in reconnecting youth to the community and may provide them with community services opportunities, job placement, assistance in creating means for positive structure in their lives, and provide means for improving the reputation of these juveniles.

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How One Police Chief is Seeing RJ Produce Compelling Results
Police Chief Richardson's presentation at the recent and annually-held NW Justice Forum focused mainly on RJ from a Police standpoint. He understands that without a commonality and consistency in the practices of each agency (i.e. schools, police and the courts) we will not see success in our goal to provide effective restorative justice to the youth of our community. Also it is important for juvenile offenders to want to improve themselves and their futures; it is our duty to foster that desire though positive interactions.

Police Chief Bob Richardson was appointed as the Battle Ground (WA) Police Chief in January 2011 and currently oversees a staff of 22 commissioned officers and 4 professional staff.
Chief Richardson worked for the Irvine Police Department for 30 years, starting as a police officer and rising through the ranks as a sergeant, lieutenant and commander. Prior to working for the Irvine Police Department, Richardson served as a military police officer in the U.S. Army for three years.

He has a wide range of law enforcement experience including patrol, field training officer, traffic officer, crime analyst, criminal investigations, planning, research and training, crime prevention, emergency management and SWAT.

Chief Richardson obtained his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from California State University in Long Beach, California and a Master's of Public Administration from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. He has also attended the Supervisory Leadership Institute hosted by California State University Long Beach, the administrative officer's course hosted by the Southern Police Institute in Louisville, Kentucky.

Chief Richardson is also an active member of many boards and commissions throughout Clark County, WA including the Clark County Public Health Advisory Council, the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency Board of Directors, the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), Prevent Together Coalition, Law Enforcement and Autism Community Network and she currently serves as the Chair of the Clark/ Skamania County Law Enforcement Council.

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Restorative Justice Rises in MA:
Communities for Restorative Justice & Juvenile Court Restorative Justice Diversion Speak Up

Erin Freeborn and Jennifer Larson-Sawin (L to R) flanked by Sen. Jamie Eldridge and Rep. Ken Gordon at recent event in MA supporting Restorative Justice Practices.

Photo Credit: Communities for Restorative Justice

Topic: There is a lot brewing in the State of Massachusetts.

Recently we caught up with Erin Freeborn of the Juvenile Court Restorative Justice Diversion Programs and Jennifer Larson-Sawin, former Executive Director of Communities for Restorative Justice. Both programs are a part of the greater MA Restorative Justice Coalition and have built steady and influential programs. They have also been working to raise awareness and educate citizens in MA and beyond about the efficacy of "RJ", most recently with concerted and successful efforts surrounding S. 2078: An Act Promoting Restorative Justice.

Enjoy this fresh short interview with Erin and Jennifer, a shorter version of our regular ongoing dialogue series. In it we discuss the reframing language of justice, the key influences of their experiences in S. Africa and New Zealand, what's happening in MA and how their respective organizations are growing by leaps and bounds, as is restorative justice in MA as well as the U.S. We also share how you can support the bill and how you can get involved more directly in MA with a Peace Alliance Action Team!

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with Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D.A. Marian Ryan, Chief of Bedford Police Dept. Robert Bongiorno and Hon. John Cratsley. Topic of discussion: In the state of MA, S. 2078 is on the table presently in Senate Ways and Means. This highly informative panel discussion shows why restorative justice works, why it matters, and why the people of MA should voice support for this bill and help it move forward.

RJOY (Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth) Space Design by Deanna

January 23, 2014
Creating Restorative Spaces with Barb Toews and Deanna Van Buren
Topic: Barb and Deanna discuss how the setup and design of a space can proactively support restorative processes, including Deanna’s experience designing space for Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (pictured above). An excellent body of work and a growing new field that also resembles other countries who are re-thinking justice architecture.

Deanna Van Buren is the founder and Design Director of FOURM design studio in Oakland California and recent Loeb Fellow at Harvard's Graduate School of Design. Her practice focuses on the investigation and application of design innovations to the punitive justice system and alternative forms of justice that embrace reparation. Recent projects include a peacekeeping room and design guidelines for restorative spaces in schools with Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth and the design and construction of a Peacemaking Center with the Center for Court Innovation in Syracuse, New York.

Barb Toews is an experienced practitioner and educator in restorative justice. Publications include Critical Issues in Restorative Justice, co-edited with Howard Zehr, and The Little Book of Restorative Justice for People in Prison. Barb holds a MA in Conflict Transformation and is a PhD candidate at Bryn Mawr College's Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research.
Her research concerns the relationship between environmental design, especially that of correctional institutions, and psycho-social-behavioral and judicial outcomes.

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Description of Dialogue: Jacques shares about the GRIP program and insights into ways that ISO programs help inmates transform themselves into change agents. Great program for those looking to do work within Corrections, and for anyone who cares about root causes of crime and viable ways to address them.

Jacques Verduin, MA Somatic Psych. is a father, community organizer and a teacher.

He is the Founding Director of the Insight Prison Project (IPP), a non-profit that since 1997 pioneers innovative in-prison rehabilitation programs in San Quentin. In 2011 he founded Insight-Out (IS0), which provides services and self-development opportunities to prisoners and challenged youth and empowers them to positively transform their predicament.

Jacques has trained former prisoners to act as Change Agents in the community, working to prevent violence and incarceration. He is a subject matter expert on mindfulness, emotional intelligence and transforming violence. He has worked in prisons for 16 years and serves as a catalyst for state-wide prison reform in California.

Email: Jacques (jverduin@comcast.net)