July 20, 2016

Thirty-five states have adopted legislation encouraging the use of restorative justice for children and adults both before and after prison, though many local law enforcement departments have for years relied on local nonprofits to perform the sessions without an official blessing from the state.

Victims and Offenders Come Together to Make Their Own Justice

http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2016/07/20/victims-and-offenders-come-together-to-make-their-own-justice

A small but consistent body of research suggests that restorative justice has stunning results when used as a community-based diversion process, or even as a post-sentencing healing process for victims of serious violent crime. As a result, my earliest inquiries as a scholar have been focused on understanding how and why some states have begun to legislate restorative justice practices, and what outcomes can be expected. 

Where and how are restorative justice laws implemented, and what are the impacts of those policies? Researchers can investigate these questions and more using a data set — now publicly available online — that tracks the adoption of restorative justice legislation nationwide.

University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work Assistant Professor Shannon Sliva established the data set five years ago in collaboration with the Georgia State University College of Law. She has been updating the data ever since, and the searchable database now includes nearly 300 statutes from all 50 states. Sliva codes statutes based on what stage in the criminal justice process restorative justice occurs, what restorative practices are named and how structured they are. Users can filter the data by location and type of practice, view a summary of each statute and follow a link to the full statute text. Read more...

Read: Finally “Changing Lenses”? State-level Determinants of Restorative Justice Laws  in The Prison Journal

Read: Restorative Justice Legislation in the American States: A Statutory Analysis of Emerging Legal Doctrine in the Journal of Policy Practice.

Read: A Tale of Two States: How State Legislatures Consider Restorative Justice Policies in the Contemporary Justice Review