The Salt Spring Island Restorative Justice program was developed in 1996 under the aegis of the Salt Spring Island Community Police Advisory Council (CPAC). For most of its life, it has been under the umbrella of the Salt Spring Island Community Services Society (SSICS). The program is totally staffed and run by volunteers with no paid staff.
Restorative Justice operates under the Ministry of Justice’s Victim Services and Crime Prevention Division through its Community Accountability Programs (CAP) guidelines for police referrals. Since 1998, funding has been provided through CAP. This funding is used for volunteer training and expenses related to conferences, seminars and administration.
Most of our cases are referred to the program through the RCMP. They include generally non-violent crimes such as shoplifting, theft, vandalism, causing a disturbance, fraud, forgery, uttering threats, taking an auto without the owner’s consent, the possession of a small quantity of illegal drugs and minor cases of assault. The vast majority of our cases involve juvenile offenders who require mentoring through the process.
