Staying Out Of Court

If you did a crime, the consequences you face will depend on the seriousness of the crime and your role in the crime. If you do more crimes and the crimes become more serious, the consequences become more severe.

The police have several choices of how to deal with your situation. Their decision depends on the crime and the circumstances under which you did the crime. The police first consider out-of-court options, called extrajudicial measures.

Extrajudicial Measures Include:

• The police take no further action
• The police give you a warning
• The police refer you to an agency that can help you make better choices
• The police refer you to an extrajudicial sanctions program. Extrajudicial sanctions are the most formal type of out-of-court measures. You need to have accepted responsibility for the crime (this means you admit that you did it) and you must agree to participate in this program

Community Justice Forums

These are one type of extrajudicial sanction.

The offender (the young person who did the crime), the victim, support people of each, and police meet with a facilitator to discuss the situation.

Everyone has a chance to speak about how the crime affected him or her. An agreement is reached about how to repair the harm done. If the agreement is not kept, further action may be taken.

A forum makes it easier for everyone involved to live together more comfortably after the crime!