Use of restorative justice and restorative practices in prison: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Aim: recent years have seen an increasing use of restorative justice (RJ) and restorative practices (RP) in prison. The aim of the study was to conduct a systematic literature review analysing research studies concerning RJ and PR within adult and/or juvenile prisons. The aim was to investigate whether and which restorative practices are applied, and the results obtained. Methods: the scientific articles included in the study were selected according to the following inclusion criteria: 1) years of publication between 2010 and 2023; 2) adult and/or juvenile prisons; 3) English-language literature; 4) full texts accessible directly or upon request to the author(s). 11 studies were included in this study and a qualitative synthesis was carried out.
Results: the most widely used restorative practice in prisons is circle (n = 9), followed by victim-offender mediation (VOM) (n = 4) and restorative conferences (n = 3). The application of RP produced positive results in terms of: promotion of conflict management skills and problem solving strategies; interpersonal relations within the prison and with the community; taking responsibility in terms of awareness of the harm caused to the victim; promotion of social and emotional skills. Conclusions: results highlighted the need to apply restorative justice and its practices in prisons as an alternative and innovative approach to conflict management, in prisoners' treatment pathways and the related difficulties and challenges in their application. However, scientific studies on this topic are limited and therefore further studies on the impact of RJ and RP in prison settings are needed.