Six boys, one cop, and the road to restorative justice

[OneGrassRoot]

It’s a warm summer night in Longmont, Colorado, a vibrant midsized city in the Rocky Mountains. On a dare, six young men aged between ten and thirteen years plan to break into a giant chemical processing plant. High levels of alcohol and testosterone, peer pressure and a moonless night propel the group towards the locked gates of the factory, and they break in.

Across town at the Police Department, Officer Greg Ruprecht is about to embark on night patrol. A former Army Captain and top of his class at the Police Academy, Ruprecht believes his job is to arrest everyone who commits a crime and throw away the key. Justice means punishment: an eye for an eye, no questions asked. You do something bad and you get what you deserve. There’s a clear line to walk. But what occurred at the chemical plant that night changed him forever by awakening a very different sensibility: instead of an instrument of vengeance, justice requires that we work to restore all those who have been injured by a crime.

The police transponder went off not long after he arrived in the industrial area of the town. “Six suspects breaking and entering at BioChem Industries, 644 Southwest Way, over.” “Roger, patrol 33 in vicinity and responding” he replied. As with any emergency, in the time between receiving the call and arriving at the scene, Ruprecht imagined what was happening, and tried to prepare himself mentally to avoid underestimating any of the circumstances. It was known in town that the plant had highly toxic chemicals inside, and he assumed he’d be dealing with seasoned thieves who would be armed.

Carefully emerging from his car, the scene was quiet except for the tall grasses in the field to the left of the plant that provided a possible route of escape. Given the moonless night he had to switch on his searchlight to back up his suspicion that the suspects might be hiding in the grass. He carefully pulled his gun, just in case. Bingo. The spotlight beam illuminated the bobbing heads that were running for their lives. But these were not the heads of adults. Kids, he thought - these are just kids. He called out for them to halt. Almost out of earshot but just enough to look back, two stopped, while the rest stumbled on, hesitated, and then realized the seriousness of what was happening.


http://www.opendemocracy.net/transformation/molly-rowan-leach/six-boys-one-cop-and-road-to-restorative-justice

[egold2604]

1. But the prison industrial complex did not profit from these kids. Major Fail

[FSogol]

2. K & R. n/t