APPG for Restorative Justice RJ Workstream 4: The commissioning, collection, and dissemination of evidence-based research in Restorative Justice and Restorative Practice & the benefits of a national reporting framework

Jonathan Hobson, Benjamin Fisk, Jaffe Lucy, Kate Hook

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Abstract

The RJ-APPG is in the second phase of its inquiry into the current state of restorative justice (RJ) and restorative practices (RP) in the UK. This paper summarises the work of workstream 4, led by Dr Jonathan Hobson alongside Ben Fisk, Kate Hook, and Lucy Jaffé. The workstream examines potential mechanisms or processes for the commissioning, collection, and dissemination of evidence-based research in Restorative Justice and Restorative Practice & the benefits of implementing a national reporting framework. The workstream received a wide range of responses in its call for evidence, including: data from the original 67 written and oral responses to the first report; further survey responses from 36 adult RJ commissioners, 3 private sector prisons, 2 delivery organizations, and 25 youth offending teams/services; feedback from 8 online and one in-person consultation events; and 10 detailed interviews and a further 16 survey responses from academics engaged in international research and dissemination on restorative work. The analysis found that there was a wide variety of excellent practice across the field, but that there was a need to capture that evidence in a variety of different and consistent formats. There was also a need to support the dissemination of the extensive research and evidence- based practices that often underpin this work, and in doing so bring together practitioners, those responsible for service design and delivery, academics, and researchers. These findings are presented as three key recommendations:: 1. To expand and support the use of regional, multistakeholder/multi-agency groups that can facilitate the sharing and dissemination of research and evidence-based practice. 2. To design, develop, and embed a National Reporting Framework(s) for restorative services. 3. To embed evidencing of success across processes of commissioning and reporting.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages2
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Restorative justice

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