Restorative Justice Week 2009

Whose Your Neighbour? Crime in the Amorphous Communities of the 21st Century
Scott Harris

In the small rural township where I live, a local business leader's letter to the editor underscored his frustration with the personal impacts of crime. His expensive business sign having been recently destroyed, he vocally denounced the vandalism - highlighting opinions about the character deficiencies of those responsible and the harm done to all who lived and worked in the area. Perpetrators still unknown, he was left but to offer a sizeable reward for information leading to the prosecution of those involved. He was counting on his good neighbours to help him root out the not-so-good ones. It was a relatively understandable response to crime in a place where 'community' still means the 'folks that live nearby'.

It is a story that finds very few parallels in the one recounted by Michael Calce in his 2008 book Mafiaboy. Calce is the once infamous 15 year old Montreal boy who mastered internet hacking and deliberately attacked some of the busiest internet sites in North America. The scale and ease with which he succeeded in his plan precipitated a massive investigation, leading to his eventual prosecution. Calce, a relatively typical suburban Montreal teen, had simply grown addicted to the power of controlling others on the internet. By so doing, he fell prey to the hubris that comes with such power and caused reported millions of dollars in damage and inconvenience. Equally important, his actions became an early warning sign about the vulnerabilities faced by an increasingly online lifestyle. The vehemence and determination of those chasing Calce was evidently aimed at sending a message to the world. Internet misbehaviour would be taken seriously. It is a relatively understandable response to a crime in a place where 'community' now means 'everyone who crosses my online path'.

These two stories, as different as they are, are nevertheless tangible reflections of the many ways in which crime has come to affect our lives - whether it is in the real world behaviours of neighbours, friends and family or whether it is at the hand of invisible attackers attempting to corrupt our computers, steal our identities, access our financial records and take advantage of our online insecurities.

Online activity has risen exponentially and the entire meaning of community is being radically transformed. Today, most Canadians find themselves living in 'communities' that bridge many dimensions from the local neighbourhood, to the extended family, to the workplace, to social clubs, to Facebook, to Twittering, and beyond. As with all changes, there are positive and negatives to the shifting relationship patterns. On one hand, 'communities' are becoming more diverse, limited far less by the constraints of time and space, and allow people to foster networks based on any range of personal considerations. On another hand, relationships can also be increasingly characterized by a lack of depth, by being purpose driven and far less durable, particularly in the face of perceived violations.

One lesson however is already clear, human nature remains relatively consistent. No matter where or how we meet one another, there still remains those who, intentionally or otherwise, will cause harm to others. In the same vein, the peculiar nature of the emergent layering of relationships highlights the restorative justice imperative to adequately address these harms by actively including victims, offenders and community members. The challenge that now faces the 21st century restorative justice practitioner is to master and adapt techniques that speak to the new ways in which people live their lives.

Despite the challenges, there are unique opportunities for restorative justice created by blended online and real world communities. Not the least of these is the absence of jurisdiction and legalization. The internet remains a largely 'un-policed' entity, which falls outside of traditional governance mechanism. In so doing, pockets for grass-roots efforts to resolve crime and conflict can be created. While there are vulnerabilities in these processes, those same concerns invite creativity, innovation and ownership for early leaders.

Similarly, increased transparency means that inappropriate behaviours online (and sometimes off) become public events that others can witness and take a stand against. The rise of blogging witnessed a growing phenomenon of "taking your beef" to the jury of your internet peers. While there appears to be no shortage of people willing to weigh in, the lack of authority and control means that these events can easily become excessive. Restorative justice approaches offer both the principles and the means to protect those involved and to foster community wisdom above retaliation.

The new communities of the 21st century are not distractions from our lives, they are extensions of them - places where the best and worst of all it means to be human find their expression. Restorative justice must simply dive-in as all others do and discover new expressions of ancient wisdoms.

Please register for the National Symposium on Restorative Justice
to be held in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, November 18th - 20th, 2009
Contact Noreen Byrne at (709) 631-0069, cms@nfld.net