Neighborhood Accountability Boards
What are Neighborhood Accountability Boards?
Neighborhood Accountability Boards are a group of persons, usually volunteers from
a variety of lifestyles, sitting together with some regularity to address the issues
and problems that result from crime.
Many use the board model to meet with offenders and victims after a crime, to better
understand the impact of crime on the victim and the community, with the goal of
deciding the reparative activities that need to be carried out by the offending
party in order to make things as right as possible.
So called “victimless crimes” can be addressed effectively by these boards, with
the community identified as the victim.
What are the goals of Neighborhood Accountability Boards?
- To actively include community in addressing crime;
- To address the impact of the offense upon victim, community and offender;
- To decide upon ways to address and repair the harm caused by crime;
- To provide opportunities for victims and community members to confront offenders
in a constuctive manner about their behavior; and
- To offer offenders opportunities to take direct responsibility for the harm they
caused to victims and community.
How do the Neighborhood Accountability Boards work?
Neighborhood Accountability Boards include meetings between the offender, the victim,
and community members, in the presence of a trained facilitator. During this meeting,
the facilitator works with the participants to discuss the offense, the harm it
has brought to the victim, and the impact it has on the offender’s family and the
community as a whole. Offenders are held actively accountable for their actions,
and are expected to be willing to try and repair the harm.
What are the benefits of Neighborhood Accountability Boards?
Victims can:
- Hold offenders accountable;
- Share how the crime affected their life;
- Ask questions they may have regarding the crime; and
- Participate in establishing a reparation agreement.
Offenders can:
- Learn about the impact of their offense;
- Explain their behavior;
- Work to repair the harm they have caused; and
- Earn their way back into the community.
Communities will:
- Become safer by holding offenders accountable;
- Communicate expectations to the offender while supporting victims; and
- Become stronger by encouraging problem solving and reparation.
Who is eligible for Neighborhood Accountability Boards?
Neighborhood Accountability Boards service ages 7 and older, who have committed
a crime or an offense in the City of Buffalo.
How much does the Neighborhood Accountability Board Program cost?
The Neighborhood Accountability Board Program is free of charge.