Results from the Pilot Study of the Citizens, Victims, and Offenders Restoring Justice Program at the Washington State Reformatory

• NCJ Number: 181674
• Journal: Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2000 Pages: 5-31
• Author(s): Jacqueline B. Helfgott; Madeline L. Lovell; Charles F. Lawrence; William H. Parsonage
• Date Published: February 2000
• Length: 27 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Open Society Foundation
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study explores ways in which the restorative justice model may be practically applied in a correctional setting.

Abstract

Citizens, Victims, and Offenders Restoring Justice Programs was a prison-based program conducted as a pilot study at the Washington State Reformatory from 1997 to 1998. It consisted of development, implementation, and evaluation of three trials of a seminar on restorative justice involving victims, offenders, and citizens as participants. The article outlines program development, summarizes program goals and evaluation methods, and presents evaluation results. The program was effective in achieving its four goals. The seminar provided a safe environment for inmates to begin making amends for their crimes and for victims to heal, facilitated constructive communication between polarized groups and encouraged participants to develop creative ways of thinking about justice and strategies for dealing with crime. Tables, note, references