Citizen Circles: Proposed Moderating Effects of Restorative Justice Initiatives on Recidivism

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

This poster displays an expansion of the theoretical foundation of restorative justice through an analysis of a risk assessment tool, demographics, and membership in Ohio Citizen Circles, a restorative justice program supported by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of Ohio Citizen Circles, using the Community Supervision Tool (CST) as a measure to evaluate prison releasees' recidivism risks. A recent BJS study stated that 76.6% of releasees reoffend within five years of leaving prison. Restorative justice programs have been shown to help lower recidivism, but the evaluative literature is so scarce that it requires much more in-depth analysis. We propose that risk factor scores on the CST on criminal history, education, family and social support, neighborhood problems, substance use, peer associations, and criminal attitudes and behavioral patterns, and number years of parole served affect recidivism with higher scores on these measures associated with increased propensity to reoffend. Within this model Citizen Circle membership moderates the other relationships associated with recidivism yielding a reduction in reoffending. This model will be illustrated through a proposed path analysis which will be conducted in future study.

Authors

• Susan Blankenship, Lake Erie College

• Brian Edward Menaker, Lake Erie College