The R(evolution) of Restorative Justice through Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships

Source: Ethics and Justice. 2 (1).

The authors report on the ways in which a research project on restorative justice in Australia — the South Australia Juvenile Justice (SAJJ) Research on Conferencing Project — affected the practitioners, and in particular, those who are responsible for convening and running family conferences, the Youth Justice Coordinators (YJC’s). Daly is the SAJJ Project Director, and Kitcher, the Head of the Family Conference Team; the project emerged after two years of planning and working together. Before describing the SAJJ project, they sketch the larger picture of restorative justice practices in Australia, which are variously termed “diversionary conferences” (the Australian Capital Territory [ACT]), “family conferences” (South Australia [SA]), and “youth justice conferences” (New South Wales [NSW]), among other terms.