by Rosie Chadwick
Reasons to be gloomy and glimmers of hope: these were my main take aways from the Mint House session recently on ‘Restorative justice in prisons – where next?’
Among reasons to be gloomy, conversationalists highlighted:
the lack of a political appetite for a reform agenda
learning and commitment lost when staff including Governors moved on
the challenges of working with a culture where rules and risk aversion are ingrained
RJ seemingly being dropped from the curriculum of the ‘Unlocked’ leadership development programme for prison officers
the huge difficulty of accessing prisons currently, so that victims often wait for months if not longer for their case to be progressed
Among glimmers of hope, we heard examples from other jurisdictions of where access to restorative justice has been written into law, though with a wise reminded that organisational challenges remain. We were reminded of good work going on across many institutions involving providers such as Belong, Remedi, Sussex Pathways and others, creating many opportunities for reflection, shared learning and evaluation[1]. And we had the example of HMP Peterborough, which in 2021 became the first prison to achieve Registered Restorative Organisation Status, and the ‘whole prison’ approach to restorative justice now being adopted across all Sodexo-managed prisons.
Earlier this week I heard someone talking about systems change in health care. The speaker challenged the notion that we should expect radical reform to come from Government, saying ‘We are the people we’ve been waiting for.’ A question for us all is how we can fan the glimmers, turning them into something stronger.
You can watch a recording of the event on our event recordings page and YouTube Channel:
