Restorative Justice and Reentry: The Indiana Restorative Reentry Initiative

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Restorative Justiceand Reentry The Indiana
Restorative Reentry Initiative

• The problem of crime cannot be simplified to the
  problem of the criminal
• -Leslie Wilkins

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Traditional Reentry Approach
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Lehman et al. (20022)

• Perhaps it is time for us to move away from
  what is seen as another offender-centered
  approach to one that is by definition more
  clearly victim-, community-, and harm-centered.

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The Three Rs of Reentry

• 1) Reparative Justice
• - Offender Accountability
• - Victim Needs
• - Community Healing

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The Three Rs of Reentry

• 2) Relationships
• - Informal Social Control
• - Social Support
• - Social Capital
• Making reentry desistance-focused (Maruna et
  al., 2004)

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Relationships Strengthen Concentric Circles of
Support (Travis, 2005)
Community Institutions
Family
Criminal Justice Agencies
Returning Prisoner
Peer Group
Service Providers
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The Three Rs of Reentry

• 3) Responsibility
• - All stakeholders have a responsibility
• - Offenders Make things right Not reoffend
• - Communities Allow offenders opportunity to
  show remorse/repair harm
• - Agencies Allow offender opportunity to admit
  wrongdoing/make reparations Address victim needs

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Promising Approach Restorative Justice

• Common definition
• A process whereby all the parties with a stake
  in a particular offense come together to resolve
  collectively how to deal with the aftermath of
  the offense and its implications for the future.
  

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Goals of Restorative Conference

• Hold offender accountable
• Promote victims voice
• Teach offender consequences of act (empathy)
• Strengthen social bonds
• Restore offender
• Restore victim
• Restore community
• Earned redemption

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What do we Know about RJ?

• Victims are satisfied with process
• Offenders are satisfied with process
• In some situations, reduces reoffending
• May be most effective with serious offenses
• -Sherman and Strang (2007)

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Research Gap RJ and Reentry

• Most of what we know
• Diversionary programs
• Low-risk or juvenile offenders
• Minor offenses
• Very little research
• Post-sentence RJ
• No systematic evaluations
• In-prison RJ

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Indiana Restorative Reentry Initiative

• Multi-year, DOJ funded, study of face-to-face
  restorative conferencing with adult offenders
  nearing their release from prison.
• Research Question Does restorative conferencing
  facilitate a more successful return to the
  community for offenders leaving prison?

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Sample

• Adult inmates
• Incarcerated at the Plainfield Reentry
  Educational Facility (PREF)
• Application facility
• Serving final 6-24 months of sentence
• http//www.in.gov/idoc/2404.htm
• Violent, property, drug offenses

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Methodology Randomized Experiment

• Goal 300 participants (150 in each condition)
  by end of 2010.
• Measures
• Pre- and post-surveys
• Attitudinal scales (empathy, legitimacy of
  justice system, empowerment, etc.)
• Positive adjustment (social bonds, housing,
  employment, etc.)
• Victim healing
• Official records
• Re-arrest, re-conviction, re-incarceration

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RJ Process

• Orientation at intake
• Offender sign-up (voluntary)
• One-on-one meeting
• - eligible?
• - discuss nature of study
• - consent, pre-survey
• Contact victim, family members
• - consent, pre-survey
• Randomization
• Control Group post-surveys refer to other
  programs
• Experimental Group schedule, prepare for
  conference
• Conference
• Follow-up
• - post-conference interview post-release
  surveys

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Conferencing Model

• International Institute for Restorative Practices
  (IIRP)
• Formerly Real Justice
• Three Phases
• What happened?
• How were people affected?
• What needs to be done to make things right?
• Ends with reintegration ceremony
• Travis (05) Promote Successful Reintegration

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Outcomes

• Randomization began July, 2009
• 12 cases
• 18 months of previous piloting
• 42 conferences

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Offender Narratives

• Audio

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A Victims Story

• Video

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Institutional Feedback

• The RJ program has provided an avenue to make
  amends not only with their victims but with
  themselves for their mistakes. This program
  accentuates the essence of forgiveness and
  understanding, and has helped transform the
  campus environment at PREF.
• Mike Lloyd Reentry Director, Indiana Department
  of Correction
• - Former Superintendent (PREF)
• RJ is a great addition to the reentry process
  at PREF. Ive heard testimonies from
  residentsand it seems to give them a sense of
  closure. It benefits the residents in many ways
  and allows them to begin the next chapter of
  their lives.
• Latoya Lane Acting Superintendent
• Restorative justice is a transformational
  program for residents in reentry. It has allowed
  them an opportunity to learn the ramifications of
  their offenses and begin the healing process.
• Mia Black Unit Team Manager

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Feedback cont.

• This program provides the residents here at
  PREF and their victims/families an opportunity to
  become responsible for their past actions and to
  move on with their lives in a positive and
  productive manner.
• Joel Schopmeyer Instructor
• Being able to attend Restorative Justice
  meetings has been an incredible experience for me
  to learn more about how an offenders crime
  affects so many people in addition to the direct
  victim.  I think this program is an excellent
  resource for victims and the offenders to begin
  the healing process.        
  
• Elizabeth Slavens - Counselor

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Feedback cont.

• When I first heard about the restorative
  justice program, I did not think that it would
  benefit the criminal justice system, the inmate,
  or the victims of crimes. I was a non supporter
  of the program until I sat in on a conference
  with a resident that had been incarcerated for
  over thirty years. He had a conference with his
  family that he had not contacted in over ten
  years. He was able to reconnect with his family
  and make amends with the people he had hurt with
  his crime. I think that the restorative justice
  program is a great asset to the residents
  reentry. It should be an intensive part of the
  residents release and every inmate should take
  advantage of the program. I have seen great
  transformation in the residents who have
  participated in the restorative justice program.
• Miranda Weliver Counselor