Restorative justice programs can offer a way to break the cycle for people caught up in a criminal justice system that has often been described as a revolving door.
In Bella Bella, a remote community 500 kilometres north of Vancouver that is only accessible by boat or plane, one woman has been working with Indigenous offenders to find a path to healing.
"We have zero youth on probation or in front of the courts or on alternative measures," said Mary Brown, the Heiltsuk Nation's Restorative Justice program co-ordinator.
When she and her colleagues started the program 22 years ago, Bella Bella had one of the highest crime rates in the province.
Working with police and the Crown, Brown's program offers a way for offenders to make amends and work towards rehabilitation using traditional Indigenous ways.
The specifically tailored programs could include healing circles with victims, rebuilding family and cultural ties and, in extreme cases, extended periods of isolation in one of five cabins located on different islands.
"In my 22 years of work in this field, I've witnessed amazing transformation in relationships, and within self," Brown said.
The BC Human Rights Commission has done research showing that Indigenous people wind up in the criminal justice system at abnormally high rates.
"We saw very significant disparities on the issues that we looked at," said Kasari Govendor, the commissioner, "For example, an Indigenous man is 17 times more likely to be arrested by the Vancouver police than a non-Indigenous man."
Part of the human rights settlement between the Heiltsuk Tribal Council and the Vancouver Police Board over the actions of officers who handcuffed Maxwell Johnson and his then-12-year-old granddaughter Tori-Anne includes $100,000 to allow HTC to establish a new program specifically for at-risk girls and young women who have experienced trauma.
"Right now, we're missing that. We don't have a young girls program within the community so it will give us an opportunity to develop a foundation," Brown said.
A similar program already exists for boys and men between the ages of 15 and 30 in Bella Bella and can be voluntary for people who aren't even involved with the criminal justice system but want help dealing with unresolved trauma.
"I call them the 'heart hurts' and getting them to a point to be able to talk about it and address it, that's huge. And it also gives a person a place in the community," Brown said.
Brown estimates there are at least a dozen girls and young women in the community who will benefit from the new progra right away -- allowing her to help them change their path before it leads to interactions with the criminal justice system.
