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That’s gonna leave a mark!

Sandra Reimer

On November 12, 1999, while on an outing, two young offenders made a dash for freedom. In a flash, Steve Krulicki, one of the guards, pursued the boys while the other guard called the police and watched the rest of the kids.


The chase led him over fences and through backyards. While Steve was mounting a fence the teens lobbed things at him. A brick hit him in the head.” I tried to get up and I couldn’t,” Steve says. “I blacked out for a minute. I was seeing stars. I finally got enough strength to get up, and I started walking.” When the other guard and the rest of the kids caught up with Steve, he was in bad shape. His right arm was paralyzed, and he was babbling incoherently. No one knew exactly what had happened.

Steve was quickly taken back to the youth jail where an ambulance met him and rushed him to St. Mary’s Hospital. Later, when his injury began to clot, they transferred him to McMaster University Hospital in Hamilton, Ont., which is better equipped to deal with head trauma. Surgery seemed imminent.

“I couldn’t feel my arm for so many hours. I couldn’t even move it. It was just hanging there,” Steve recalls. A lover of sports, he thought he would never play hockey or baseball again.

Ray of Hope in Kitchener, Ont. rehabilitates young offenders serving sentences in their three youth jails. Staff and volunteers show them Christ’s love and pray that they will change their ways. But now one of their own was a victim.

Family, friends, co-workers and churches began praying for Steve shortly after the incident. Steve affirms, “You can’t underestimate the power of prayer, especially in that situation. I went from not being able to feel my arm to within a couple of hours the swelling going down and being able to feel my arm. I knew that I’d be back to normal in no time.” Thankfully, Steve was out of danger, and surgery was not necessary. Complete healing took some time. He spent six nights in the hospital, and three months on seizure medication, which meant he couldn’t drive. He had to move back in with his parents for a few months and was on Workers’ Compensation during that time.

After all the grief these two 15-year-old boys had caused him, how did Steve feel towards them? “I knew it wasn’t a personal attack,” he says. “Young offenders, they don’t think about what they do.”

After escaping from Steve, the two young offenders went to a party and got drunk. They also stole a car and smashed it up. The boys were caught soon after their escapade. The Crown charged them, and they were sentenced to more time in jail. Justice was served. But the offenders also got a taste of something called “restorative justice”.

Restorative Justice encompasses a variety of measures that all have in common the belief that crime is a violation of relationship. Restorative justice goes beyond making sure that someone who has committed a crime is adequately punished. To be sure, the wrong done is honestly acknowledged, and restitution is made to the victim. But there is also room for the offender to ask forgiveness, to be forgiven and to be reintegrated into the community.

Two of the most used restorative justice processes in Canada are Victim Offender Reconciliation and Family Group Conferencing. The Victim Offender Reconciliation prototype was born in the early 1970s in Kitchener, when concerned Mennonites connected to the justice system tried a new approach. Mennonite Central Committee in Ontario formally started the Victim Offender Reconciliation Project in 1975. From its birthplace in Canada, VORP spread to other countries such as the United States and Germany. The Family Group Conferencing model originated in New Zealand and likewise has spread to many other countries. Both models involve a meeting between victim and offender for the purpose of acknowledging the crime, agreeing on how to repair the harm and hopefully achieving some sort of reconciliation or at least peaceful closure to the incident. A Family Group Conference also includes the victim’s and offender’s supporters and family members and anyone else impacted by the crime. At times, Victim Offender Reconciliation and Family Group Conferencing are used as an alternative to sentencing people through the courts.

This works well if a crime is committed within a small community, such as a school. A judge can also sentence an offender to go through Victim Offender Reconciliation or Family Group Conferencing rather than spend time in jail. In Steve’s case, the offenders served time in custody in addition to going through a Family Group Conference.

In December 1999, barely a month after the incident, Steve agreed to meet with the two boys in a Family Group Conference. Steve’s fiancée Jen, his brother, his parents and his future in-laws attended. The young man who had hit Steve with the brick was supported by his mother, girlfriend and little brother; the other offender had only the Ray of Hope staff person assigned to him by his side. Duane Boles, a trained facilitator, mediated the conference.

In each Conference, the group gathers in a semi-circle with the offender and supporters on one side of the facilitator and the victim and supporters on the other side. The facilitator starts by laying down ground rules. Everyone must be given a chance to speak without interruption. There is room for angry feelings and tough questions. Sometimes things get heated, and it is necessary to take a break. Both parties have the option to leave if they can’t handle the situation.

The facilitator makes sure that honest expressions don’t become abusive; the focus is on hearing everyone out and finding a way to repair the harm, not on affixing blame. Next the offender gives his or her account of the incident, including what his/her motives were and what he/she has thought about since the crime. In turn the victim, as well as the victim’s and offender’s supporters, relate how the crime affected them. Finally, the group decides how the offender can make things right. Restitution might include writing a letter of apology, paying for stolen items, doing volunteer work or anything else the group agrees on.

Steve’s father-in-law wanted the boys to consider how much time and money the incident cost everyone, including the Ray of Hope staff, the ambulance attendants, Steve’s family and, of course, Steve himself. His father-in-law is self-employed and had to take a couple of days off work so he could take his daughter to visit Steve in the hospital.

The mother of the boy who hit Steve started crying because she thought it was her family against Steve’s family. Through her tears (and an interpreter), she said she loved her son but that what he did brought shame on the family. She thought there would be a lawsuit. Steve graciously told her, “After tonight, it doesn’t have to be brought up again.”

Incredibly, Steve was ready and eager to forgive the boys when they asked. “The Lord forgave me so of course I’m going to forgive them. I had no grudges or anything.”

Not every victim is ready to face the offender, and many are not so eager to forgive. Before a Family Group Conference takes place, the facilitator often spends many hours meeting or talking on the phone with each person who will participate. This pre-Conference preparation is essential to ensure that everyone knows what to expect and that all are ready for a face-to-face meeting. Sometimes the victim requests a letter of apology instead of a meeting. Victims also have the option of sending a proxy who will represent their interests and receive the apology on their behalf. Some victims want no part of the process, preferring to put the incident behind them in other ways.

The offender who assaulted Steve was sentenced to 15 more months in custody at Hope Manor, Ray of Hope’s high-security youth jail. He did very well during that time. He earned the highest level of privilege for good behaviour and managed to maintain this level for the duration of his sentence. He was also taken into the community many times without any problems. Best of all, he took an interest in Christ. He voluntarily attended chapel times and participated in a one-on-one discipleship relationship. There is hope, even for young offenders.

Steve Krulicki

What were the lasting effects on Steve? Understandably, he says he will think twice about chasing another kid who tries to escape. But he did not think twice about returning to work with the kids he loves. Many would have held a grudge or at the very least retreated in fear to a safer career. Steve’s love for youth in custody remains. The experience left its mark, but Steve is leaving his own mark. He finds he has a new compassion for victims of crime. God has also used this experience as he has shared it with some of the offenders in his care. “It’s kind of neat for them to understand what I went through. I use this whenever I can to express to them that [crime] does affect people in different ways but that you can be forgiven, no matter what you have done.”

Sandra Reimer works for Ray of Hope and attends Glencairn MB Church in Kitchener, Ont.

About Ray of Hope

Ray of Hope’s mission is to demonstrate the love of Christ to those who are disadvantaged, marginalized and/or in conflict with the law. This interdenominational, evangelical Christian organization has served Ontario’s Waterloo Region for more than 30 years. As a registered charity, Ray of Hope is funded by churches, businesses, foundations and concerned individuals. Programs Hope Manor, Anchor House and Hope Harbour are young offender custody facilities whose core activities are funded by the government. Additional young offender programs related to the Christian mission, such as a full-time chaplain, are privately funded. Oasis drop-in centre meets the basic needs of disadvantaged people in downtown Kitchener. Morning Glory Café and Bakery employs people who have been on social assistance long-term and helps them transition to jobs in the community. Workers Fifty to 75 Christian volunteers regularly give time to the mission, alongside 110 paid staff. Contact information Ray of Hope 520 Queen St. S. Kitchener, Ont. N2G 1X1 Phone: (519) 578-8018 E-mail: rohadmin@rayofhope.net Web site: www.rayofhope.net

 

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Last modified April 17, 2002.

© 2002 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
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