Restorative Resolutions Project: An Alternative to Incarceration

Source: (1996) International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice. 20(1 & 2):209-219.

This article describes Canada’s Restorative Resolutions Project and the extent to which it has been active and successful as an alternative to incarceration. A restorative system of justice builds on offender strengths, expects offenders to make improvements in their own lives and their communities, and involves offenders and victims in decisionmaking. The Restorative Resolution program develops restorative plans with serious adult felony offenders and their victims; the plans are presented to the Court at the time of sentencing with a recommendation that the offender be sentenced to complete the restorative plan rather than to prison. During the first 18 months the project received 115 referrals from which 67 were accepted. Plans were developed for 84 percent of accepted offenders. Restorative elements such as restitution and service to the community were less likely to be included in the plans than were counseling and self-help activities. The judges accepted 81 percent of the plans presented. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.