Media Advisory

TO:                     News Editors and PSA Directors

FROM:                UAF Justice Department

SUBJECT:           National Videoconference on Restorative Justice

LOCATION:         Third Floor, Rasmuson Library on the UAF campus

DATE & TIME:     9-11 a.m. Dec. 12, 1996

The University of Alaska Fairbanks justice department is teaming up with the northern regional office of the Alaska Department of Corrections to sponsor a live satellite videoconference on "Restorative Justice" Thursday, Dec. 12 from 9-11 a.m. The video conference, produced by the U.S. Department of Justice, will be broadcast nationwide to universities and correctional agencies and will focus on ways to combat juvenile crime. UAF is the only linked site in Alaska.

According to UAF Justice Department Head Gary Copus, restorative justice emphasizes a balance between community concerns, victims rights and responsibilities of juvenile offenders. Copus says the approach includes a definition of juvenile crime as an act against a person and a community, not an act against the state. Rehabilitation success is measured by how much reparation the offender offers the community and the victim, instead of how much punishment state courts deliver. The conference is free, but seating is limited. To register call the UAF justice department at (907) 474-7609.

FOR MORE INFORMATION contact: UAF Justice Department Head Gary Copus, (907) 474-7609, or Jillian Swope, University Relations, (907) 474-7778.

JCS/11-5-96/97-036ma