Bill Text: HI HCR143 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii House Concurrent Resolution 143 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Urging The Judiciary To Partner With Supporting Agencies And Request Grant Funds Under The Victims Of Crime Act To Establish And Support A Restorative Justice Program In Each County To Allow Victims And Offenders An Opportunity To Participate In Restorative Justice.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-04-12 - Referred to JDC/GVO. [HCR143 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2022-HCR143-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	143
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

URging the judiciary to partner with supporting agencies and request grant funds under the victims of crime act to establish and support a restorative justice program in each county to allow victims and offenders an opportunity to participate in Restorative Justice.

WHEREAS, studies show that restorative justice programs reduce crime, reduce repeat offenses, divert individuals from the criminal justice system, reduce the costs of criminal justice, increase crime victims' healing and well-being, reduce the backlog of court cases, and provide victims and offenders with greater satisfaction than traditional criminal justice often allows; and

WHEREAS, the restorative justice process is a powerful healing tool that brings offenders, victims, and their respective personal supporters together in a carefully managed and safe environment; and

WHEREAS, the restorative justice paradigm focuses on victims and the harms done to them, the obligations those harms create for offenders and the community, and how to make things right as much as possible; and

WHEREAS, restorative justice may occur at any level of the criminal justice process, including when police first encounter a crime, during the screening process, before a hearing is scheduled, before sentencing, or following conviction, and if successful, restorative justice can lead to the transformation of people, relationships, and communities; and

WHEREAS, restorative justice builds a sense of empathy among the parties involved and can lead to creative, sustainable resolutions beyond the scope of a more traditional court system; and

WHEREAS, for restorative justice to take place, the offender must admit to the crime, and both the victim and offender must be willing to participate; and

WHEREAS, an impartial, trained, and experienced facilitator meets with the parties to discuss the program's goals and plans a restorative justice process; and

WHEREAS, after adequate preparation, the facilitator and parties meet and the resulting agreements may resolve the case; and

WHEREAS, pilot projects in the State, such as Pono Kaulike on Oahu and the Restorative Justice Program of the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Hawaii, have been offered with positive results, leading to restorative justice pilot projects being highlighted by the Federal Probation Journal, Honolulu Magazine, and KITV News; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the Senate concurring, that the Judiciary is urged to partner with supporting agencies and request grant funds under the Victims of Crime Act to establish and support a restorative justice program in each county to allow victims and offenders an opportunity to participate in restorative justice; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii and the prosecutor of each county.