How Restorative Justice Practices in Prison Can Promote Desistance from Crime: Or Does It?

• In Event: Restorative Justice in Prison

Abstract

Interest in desistance from crime has developed in the last twenty years from a number of strands such as in resettlement from prison and corrections. Restorative Justice (RJ) derives from a different set of theoretical imperatives and the implementation of these practices in Europe and the UK now has an increasing focus on the moral and social rehabilitation of the offender. The capacity of RJ interventions to reduce the likelihood of offenders’ reoffending opens new perspectives for these practices in prisons. Within this process of desisting from crime, motivational and cognitive elements are critical and they have clear links with the processes involved in RJ practices. Additionally these RJ practices have the potential to foster social and human capital. However, prisons differ significantly from other social institutions, induce deprivations and have specific cultures and structures that influence practices and the behavior of all those present. Drawing upon research results in a Belgian and English prison, this presentation focuses on the way in which these RJ practices can promote desistance from crime, but at the same time, interact with the structural and cultural elements that are part of daily life in prison.

Author

• Bart Claes, University of Sheffield (UK)