NCJ Number
184093
Journal
Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 10 Issue: 3 Dated: 1999 Pages: 363-399
Editor(s)
Nanci Koser Wilson
Date Published
1999
Length
37 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the developmental phase of "Citizens, Victims, and Offenders Restoring Justice," a prison-based pilot study conducted at the Washington State Reformatory.
Abstract
The study consisted of the development, implementation, and evaluation of a seminar on restorative justice involving victims, offenders, and community members as participants. Goals were to encourage victims, offenders, and citizens to visualize justice in new and creative ways and to lessen gaps between different interest groups. A developmental committee was formed to incorporate the perspectives of different interest groups and to use expertise from multiple organizations. Focus group discussions were also held. Initial results from the developmental trial of the seminar suggested participants were satisfied with the experience, offenders considered the seminar a rare opportunity to express their feelings about their crimes and victims, participants appreciated the open dialogue and opportunity to learn about each other, and seminar discussions fostered new ideas about how to achieve justice. 20 references, 4 notes, and 4 tables