CJI News and Resources

As a person makes their way through the criminal justice system after committing an offence, it becomes increasingly challenging for society to separate the offence from the person. While it is not outlined in substantive criminal law, one of the ways we hold people who have offended accountable is by placing a label on them,Read more

Changing Lenses: A New Focus for Crime and Justice Crime victims have many needs, most of which our criminal justice system ignores. In fact, the justice system often increases the injury. Offenders are less ignored by this system, but their real needs—for accountability, for closure, for healing—are also left unaddressed. Such failures are not accidental,Read more

Inferno: An Anatomy of American Punishment America’s criminal justice system is broken. The United States punishes at a higher per capita rate than any other country in the world. In the last twenty years, incarceration rates have risen 500 percent. Sentences are harsh, prisons are overcrowded, life inside is dangerous, and rehabilitation programs are ineffective.Read more

I was introduced to CJI in 2005. At the time, I was pursuing Sociology with an option in Legal Studies and Criminology from the University of Waterloo. My journey with CJI began as a co-facilitator for the Revive program. I was part of two different groups – survivors of sexual abuse and offenders of sexualRead more

I am in constant amazement by the positive impacts of using Restorative Justice practices in the community, and in a pioneering agency that is CJI. I have always been driven to become involved with those trying to navigate the complexities of the criminal justice system, though it wasn’t until I was immersed in CJI’s programs thatRead more

Twenty years ago, Phil Maier took a course in workplace conflict mediation at CJI paid for by his employer. He had no idea what he was getting himself into. Recognizing some natural ability, the CJI trainer encouraged Phil to take a conflict mediator training course. After taking the course, Phil began volunteering at CJI. BeforeRead more

I have been a volunteer with CJI’s Revive program for over 14 years. The program supports women, men, and youth over 18, who are impacted by sexual trauma through education and peer support groups and one-to-one services. CJI also offers services for partners, families, and communities impacted by sexual harm. As a volunteer, I haveRead more

Without protest, Mary* had watched neighborhood boys hop her fence and not-so-delicately retrieve an errant ball from her immaculate yard. But this time a soccer ball had damaged a lawn ornament that her husband had painstakingly created. And her husband lay inside, dying of cancer. Joe* came home from a long, hard day at workRead more

Until they developed a mutual attraction for the same boy, the two teenage girls had been the best of friends. That’s when the arguments began. When nasty Facebook messages proliferated, peers choose sides and false rumours and innuendo dominated the school corridors. Then it got physical. School administrators – at both the secondary and elementaryRead more

When CJI began offering recreation nights at a local custody facility Aidan* eagerly joined the games and sports. He was excited to see the volunteers each week and got to know some of them personally. When Aidan heard that a neighbor couldn’t afford a new roof, he arranged for the shingles to be donated toRead more