Restorative Justice and Preparation for Release
When prisoners are released to families or communities that are angry or fearful of them, the likelihood of successful re-entry is significantly reduced. Restorative justice processes whose objective is to help prisoners, their families and their communities prepare for release have proven necessary and useful in many countries.
These programmes are sometimes essential for the safety of the offender or of community members. Victims who are not satisfied with the results of the criminal justice system may take matters into their own hands if there is no other way to achieve satisfaction. Communities that are fearful and angry at the release of a sex offender into their midst may adopt vigilante measures because they do not trust police promises of protection.
These articles describe restorative processes that have been successfully used in these situations.
- What Shall We Then Do? An Interdenominational Guide and Kit for Creating Healing Communities.
- The vision of Healing Communities is that Christians and their churches faith will reach out and support individuals and families in their own congregations that are affected by the criminal justice system, which included those victimized by crime, those arrested, those in jail or prison, those reintegrating and the family members of each.When they do this, they become a Station of Hope – a place where the stigma and shame of the crime is eased and the congregation offers a place of love, forgiveness, redemption and reconciliation.
- A Community Response Manual: The Victim’s Role in Offender Reentry Lexington, KY: American Probation and Parole Assoc.
- This manual presents strategies for involving community members and crime victims in partnerships that facilitate the successful re-entry of ex-inmates into the community, as well as promising practices for re-entry partnerships. In the discussion of strategies for involving community members and victims in re-entry partnerships, the manual first defines "community" as "relationships that people build, beginning with one-on-one and emerging into groups of varying sizes that share a common bond and mutual interests." It then advises that in re-entry partnerships, collaboration is required between the following four key communities: victims or those who provide support and services to victims, offenders or advocates for offenders, individuals and agencies that implement venues for justice and community safety, and persons who are affected by an offender's re-entry into their neighborhood. Attention is then given to the role of the community in determining and meeting victims' needs, particularly in the context of offender re-entry. Such a community role includes support, advocacy, liaison services, and the creation of public awareness of victims' needs and rights. Sections of the manual then focus on ensuring victims' rights in the re-entry process in the following key areas: victim notification, victim protection, the defining of victim impact, and victim restitution. Another major section of the manual profiles existing promising practices for re-entry partnerships, including a burglary prevention project; victim advisory councils; considering victims' needs when assessing offenders' risk; programs that pertain to the impact of crime on victims; accountability boards; victim-sensitive parole revocation processes; and restorative community service. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.
- Citizens Circles: A Road Map to Successful Community Involvement Promoting Responsible Citizenship Columbus, Ohio: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
- Citizen Circles create partnerships that promote positive social interaction and accountability for offenders upon release. Circle members address risks that contribute to criminal activity by taking ownership over the solution. It is an opportunity for citizens to communicate expectations for successful reentry and help offenders recognize the harm their behavior has caused others. Offenders are able to make amends and demonstrate their value and potential to the community. (excerpt) This manual provides an overview of the Citizen Circles.
- Restorative Reintegration - A New Approach to Prisoner Aftercare in New Zealand
- The first 3 – 6 months is the crucial period for released prisoners. Many prisoners walk out of prison, determined to make a new start. The first 3 – 6 months are critical. They need help with housing, employment, debt management, and family and community relationships. If they get help from mentors and the community in the first six months, the chance of them reoffending drops by around 40%. If they face barriers, red tape, and stigmatization, it becomes difficult to keep on the straight and narrow. That is where Prison Fellowship comes in. Over the last four years, Prison Fellowship has developed a holistic approach to prisoner reintegration known as “Restorative Reintegration”
- PF Zimbabwe Helping Ex-offenders, Families and Communities Find Healing
- Ex-offenders encounter many challenges to living a crime free life once they leave prison. Chief among these are rejection by their families and communities of origin and the fear of revenge on the part of victims or victims' families. As a response to this reality, PF Zimbabwe created the Victim Offender Reconciliation Programme to assist this reintegration process.
