Decades of Being Part of Santa Cruz County's Public Safety System

Since 1986, the Conflict Resolution Center of Santa Cruz County has worked from a simple idea: address conflict and harm in ways that create accountability, understanding, and a path forward. Incorporating these values in practice has been part of our mission.

We’re proud to say CRC is a vital part of Santa Cruz County’s public-safety system.
​
CRC and the Santa Cruz County Probation Department developed the Reconciliation Project to bring restorative justice practices to more serious cases. The County describes the program as serving cases in which legal sanctions are complete, the person who caused harm is ready to take responsibility, and the person who experienced the harm is willing and able to participate in a restorative process. That work reflects an important distinction.

Completing a legal consequence and repairing harm are not always the same thing. Restorative justice can create space for questions that may remain after a case has moved through the legal system.

• What happened?
• Who was affected?
• What responsibility needs to be taken?
• What would meaningful repair look like?
• And what could help prevent future harm?

The County’s 2025-26 Public Safety Realignment Implementation Plan includes CRC among its AB109-funded providers and provides screening, preparation, facilitation, and follow-up. 

But the partnership represents something larger than a contract. It shows how a community-based organization and a public agency can work together to expand the ways we think about accountability and public safety.

The Reconciliation Project has also included individual cases.

The County notes that the project played a central role in supporting the community restorative justice process following the defacement of Santa Cruz’s Black Lives Matter mural. For CRC, this work is part of a 40-year continuum.

We began by helping neighbors and families work through conflict.

Over four decades, that work has grown to include mediation, restorative justice, court and probation partnerships, workplace and community conflict resolution, training, youth programs and new approaches developed in response to emerging community needs.

The methods continue to evolve. The purpose remains remarkably consistent: helping people face conflict and harm in ways that strengthen accountability, understanding and community.

As CRC celebrates its 40th anniversary, we’ll be sharing more stories about where this work began, how it has changed, and what we believe conflict resolution can make possible in Santa Cruz County over the next 40 years.

We're celebrating our anniversary with a party on September 26, 2026. You're invited! Learn more here.