BUILD’s programs have had a dramatic impact on the 2,100 youth it serves, data from the agency showed.
Of them, 84% have stopped or reduced incidents of fighting and 61% of those in gangs left them or are in the process of leaving them within the last year. And 14% of youth involved in the court system were rearrested from 2022 to 2023 after working with BUILD – in contrast to the national average of 55%.
The figures came as part of the group’s fourth annual restorative justice conference May 31. More than 100 people attended the conference, which discussed reframing the criminal justice system to focus on offender rehabilitation and healing, rather than punitive measures.
Founded in 1969 on Chicago’s West Side, BUILD offers violence intervention, education, community wellness and engagement. More than 40% of its clients live in Austin, and 14% live in Garfield Park.
“We’re here to explore the transformative potential of restorative practices in police accountability and strengthening the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve, particularly on the West Side,” said Alexandra Auguste. She moderated the breakout session on police accountability and is co-founder and executive director of Community Leadership Fellows, a leadership development organization on the West Side.
Auguste asked four panel members, all a part of CLF, questions about restorative justice’s role in police accountability.
Their answers have been lightly edited for clarity and space.
How do restorative practices impact a police officer building relationships in a community?
Jamil Brown, a Chicago police officer in North Lawndale, works with community policing models, largely alongside youth and faith-based organizations. He said his job is all about building relationships.
“Restorative practices help me bridge those divides, help me fill in those gaps, so that way we can be able to connect on a personal level,” Brown said. Such practices include peace circles and restorative justice circles.
“To me, peace circles are just that, trying to establish that common language around what is peace and how we achieve that,” said Arewa Karen Winters, a 15th district councilwoman and community organizer. She said that restorative justice circles, on the other hand, often include someone who has been harmed or has caused harm.
“And now we have to begin to dissolve this together and create a plan of action for us to heal,” Winters said of restorative justice circles.
“When you sit down and you’re in a circle with someone and you are open and transparent, those are those important moments where you guys are able to connect and find that common ground,” said Brown, who has been trained in facilitating peace circles for about eight years.
Brown said CPD used to hold peace circles with the community through Bridging the Divide, a program that focused on building local relationships and partnerships to strengthen trust and facilitate healing. But, he said, the program wasn’t as much of a priority after CPD administration changed and the program possibly ran out of funding.
However, Brown said he’s seen first-hand the effect that peace circles have had on residents. The other day, he said, his community partner told him, “I still got, to this day, guys who you have interacted with who said, ‘Man, I miss Officer J.B. or I miss officer so-and-so,’” Brown said. In peace circles, “you have that healing, you had those moments, you had that deep connection.”
How can we foster open dialogue and collaborative efforts between the police and the Black community?
“For me, especially when I talk about safety, I’m going to preface every answer with one word. And that’s accountability,” said Alees Edwards, a block club president in Humboldt Park and councilwoman for the 11th police district. “Step one is admitting that wrong has been done harm to the black community by CPD.”
After taking accountability, Edwards suggests more peace circles between the community and police, since hearing about someone’s background and intent helps to humanize them, even in cases of harm.
“Restorative justice is often highlighted for its potential in addressing and preventing violence by fostering dialogue,” Edwards said.
What role does restorative justice play in reducing violence?
Jermaine Harris, a police officer for the 15th District, said that violent acts are often a culmination of systemic racism and harm.
Harris said that, when he goes into classrooms of young children, many say they want to be police officers when they grow up. But by the time they’re in middle or high school, that changes.
“It’s a whole different perception of policing and the world. Things are happening to these young people,” Harris said. “So really understanding this idea of harm and how it affects trauma, how it affects the person, that’s an essential piece.”
And to do that, Harris said police have to address the causes of violence.
“We have to start asking, ‘Why,’” and then address the reasons that come up, said Harris, who was trained in peace circles in 2018.
“We’re not going to be able to say, ‘If we can keep people in jail longer, we can stop violence. If the state’s attorney does this, we’re going to stop violence. If we have no police, we’re going to stop violence,’” Harris said. “We’re not really understanding what’s wrong with the system itself.”
What changes or actions do you believe are necessary to begin building trust between police and the Black community?
Like in peace circles, where participants are encouraged to humanize other participants, Edwards said it’s important to humanize police officers.
“The institution is broken, so I separate the institution from the individual,” Edwards said.
“It is, I don’t want to say a broken system, but the system is dealing with the system,” said Winters, who lost her nephew to a police-involved shooting in Lawndale in 2016. Though the 15th District council can make recommendations on policies, she said the Chicago Police Department is used to commanding themselves.
“I don’t think they were ready to have community input at the level of where it is,” Winters said of district councils, which were created after the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance in 2021. But it’s not just the CPD’s bureaucracy. “I believe if we had a relationship with CPD without city attorneys and what not being involved, I believe we would be able to push the needle further along.”