The Strong Roots of Restorative Justice in Schools: Officer Staci Stallings

Officer Staci Stallings

The Strong Roots of Restorative Justice in Schools

At the LCJP offices on Main Street in Longmont CO, there is a large painting of a tree. Its trunk and roots are burned into the wood pallet. The roots, bright and strong against dark paint, form the words that LCJP is anchored to:

Relationship

Respect

Responsibility

Repair

Reintegration

The artist, Officer Staci Stallings, has been a School Resource Officer for 7 years and an LCJP Liaison for 13. For Staci, those 5 R’s are just as much a part of her story as they are for LCJP.

What initially pulled Officer Stallings into Restorative Justice Practices was her innate willingness to look deeper.  “I’ve always been a fixer. And recognized as a society we tend to put band aids on things. Temporary fixes for things. The real problem never gets addressed. The victimization continues to oneself and to others.”

Staci has seen first-hand the transformational effect that restorative justice has on students. When asked which case she has participated in that was the most impactful she says there are simply too many. Each case has made an incredible difference. Each case changed the trajectory of someone’s life. However, there is one case on the forefront of Officer Stallings mind the day we spoke.

“This young Latino man is incredibly smart. He was set to graduate high school early and had a scholarship lined up for a great school.”

The case is one that is familiar. This young man, old enough to get a medical marijuana card, ends up facing a potential felony charge after a series of mistakes involving possession of marijuana. The felony charge “would have really curbed his goals. Not to mention put a huge strain on his hard-working family who weren’t wealthy. He took full responsibility and was totally remorseful.” Officer Stallings recognized the need for restorative justice, and that this one blunder should not derail this person’s life

Without Restorative Justice in schools, the trajectory of this young man’s life was clear; endless court dates, missing school to meet the demands of a judicial process, and possibly losing his scholarship. Yet what makes Restorative Justice practices unique is that no one is seen or interacted with as a stereotype or a cliché. Each person impacted is viewed as whole and as individual.

The 5 R’s Tree

Artist: Staci Stallings

Officer Stallings has a tremendous amount of care for the cases she takes on; it is obvious in the way she speaks about every person involved in this case, from those harmed to the impact the process had on the responsible person’s little brother. For Officer Stallings, they all deeply matter to her. 

“He went through the Restorative Justice process. One of his contract items was to write a letter to me and the school. It was one of the most heartfelt letters I have ever received. He understood 100% not only what he had done, but what the legal impacts could have done to his goals and to his family. He was full of gratitude for the process, for Restorative Justice.” 

Officer Stallings shares that the power of the Restorative Justice process altered not only the arc of this young man’s life, but that of his entire family. 

“A few days after the process was finished, I got a huge bouquet of white flowers. Anonymous. To this day I believe it was from his family. They were so proud of him for taking accountability and making repairs. It brought them together as a family. It opened up this honesty with them as a family.” 

Restorative Justice asks more of the community. It asks each person involved to work harder, to acknowledge in a meaningful way the harms that have been done. It asks the person responsible  to make significant repairs not only for those who were harmed, but to themselves as well. In this case, Officer Stallings knew the outcome would not have been positive if it was handled in a punitive way.

“So many good things came out it that I don’t believe would have if I had just given him a felony summons. What would have come out of that other than a lot of fees, a lot of punitive things, a lot of stress for the family, and ongoing effects?”

There is also a prevailing personal impact that Restorative Justice Practices have on Officer Stallings.

“We are trained to look for something wrong. It spills into personal life. 24 hours a day we are looking for something wrong. Restorative Justice is an amazing balancing tool or practice that has allowed me to not go to that jaded cynical place that happens to so many Officers. Practicing this type of culture, of seeing people as more than their mistakes. The well-being and self-care of the everyday work of a police officer and trying to remember that there is more going on. There is more to that individual, there is more to that behavior.”

 LCJP is incredibly thankful for the exhausting work that our SRO’s are doing for the community. In highlighting these stories and their voices we hope to create a dialogue around the importance of increasing Restorative Justice in schools, and how vital the work that Restorative Justice trained SRO’s are doing.

Donate below to widen the impact that Restorative Justice has and support SRO’s like Staci Stallings in the work of creating a culture of caring and seeing the world a little differently.