Book Review: Beyond the Comfort Zone: A Guide to the Practice of Community Conferencing
This short book (84 pages of text with note pages between chapters) is a valuable resource for program practitioners as well as students of restorative justice. It is based on the experience of several agencies in the Canadian city of Calgary as they created an alternative to disciplinary and delinquency processes for young people charged with causing serious harm.
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This short book (84 pages of text with note pages between chapters) is a valuable resource for program practitioners as well as students of restorative justice. It is based on the experience of several agencies in the Canadian city of Calgary as they created an alternative to disciplinary and delinquency processes for young people charged with causing serious harm. Calgary Community Conferencing is in its fifth year. This book follows its history in four chapters dealing with 1) how the program was formed, 2) its approach to conferencing, 3) how it develops its facilitators, and 4) ways that the program has matured over the years. As such, it offers a useful case study for those interested in how restorative justice programs begin and grow. One of the themes of the book is that restorative values should inform all aspects of a restorative program’s work, including its creation. The first chapter describes the creation of a partnership of agencies willing to sponsor community conferencing, and the collaborative way they brought it into being. The title of the book, Beyond the Comfort Zone, refers as much to the experience of these agencies in starting and sustaining community conferencing as it does to the parties who sit down in a conference. Conferencing is conducted in a variety of ways around the world. The second chapter describes the Calgary approach, dealing with topics ranging from referral of cases to the role and responsibilities of facilitators to how conferences are run. The text, sidebar quotations from stakeholders and participants, and specific examples present a rich and insightful look at how conferencing is done in Calgary. Facilitators can greatly influence the success or failure of a restorative dialogue. Consequently, Calgary Community Conferencing devotes considerable time and effort in developing its facilitators, drawing on a set of qualities or attributes they have found effective facilitators to have. But in addition to carefully selecting facilitators, the program finds ways to challenge and encourage them to continually develop their skills and aptitudes. These are described in chapter three. The final chapter returns to the program itself, reviewing how it has matured and evolved in the five years of its existence. There is much to admire about Calgary Community Conferencing as it is presented here. There is also much to admire about the author’s presentation. Susan Sharpe is a mediator, facilitator and trainer. Her previous book, Restorative Justice: A Vision for Healing and Change, was highly praised as an articulate and creative presentation of restorative justice concepts, values and practice. This new book is a certainly a worthy successor. The book may be ordered by visiting www.calgarycommunityconferencing.com or by writing Calgary Community Conferencing, #206, 8989 Macleod Trail SW, Calgary, Alberta T2H 0M2 Canada.
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