Audio/Video Resources

See and listen to stories about restorative justice processes and programmes.

Pendle mum's film aims to spread message of restorative justice system

from the article by KAte Jackson in Lancashire Telegraph: ....Since their first meeting at Preston Prison in 2009, Margaret has met the burglar every few months and has been keeping a keen eye on his progress. During the past three years the meetings with Margaret, director of complementary studies at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, have been filmed and are due to be turned into a DVD to illustrate the effects of restorative justice.

Restorative justice is the law

by Dan Van Ness Heartspeak Productions is a remarkable Canadian group that describes itself as "on a continual quest to learn about & share the principles and best practices of restorative justice." It does this by creating excellent videos exploring dimensions of restoration. Fraser Community Justice Initiatives Association is a community NGO also in Canada that for 25 years has developed programs and training that help people in conflict find good resolutions.

Student voices about restorative justice

In this four minute video, students from the San Francisco Unified School District share their experiences of restorative circles.

Justicia Juvenil Restaurativa in Peru

This 14 minute video highlights the Justicia Juvenil Restaurativa project in Lima, Peru. The project started in 2005 as a partnership between the foundation Terre des Hommes and the Peruvian NGO, Asociación Encuentros Casa de la Juventud. In the video, ex-offenders, social workers, police officers, judges, and prosecutors explain the programme and the various services offered.

Talking resolution: A conversation on violence, restorative justice, and human rights

This hour long video presents a dialogue on responding to violent crime and major atrocities.

The meeting: Jo's story - Surviving rape

From the Restorative Justice Council's website: In 2004 I was raped by a boy I knew. For weeks afterwards I was in a daze trying to cope with what had happened not only to me, but also to my family. He didn’t plead guilty to the rape to start with, so I had the extra worry of the trial, but that changed once he was presented with the DNA evidence. The first time I faced him was in Court when he received a life sentence. Almost a year later I had a visit from the probation Victim Liaison Officer and she mentioned the possibility of restorative justice - of a meeting with Darren. From that time on it was always at the back of my mind. I knew as soon as she said it that I wanted to meet him because this was about me taking control of the situation, re-balancing what he had taken away from me that day. The judge had said to Darren in Court ‘you have destroyed this woman’s life’ – but that wasn’t what I wanted, and that wasn’t how I saw it.

Face to Face

from Claire Low's article in the Canberra Times The film deals with the restorative justice system that follows a young bloke deliberately rear-ending his boss's car. It is is based on a play of the same name by Australian playwright and screenwriter David Williamson, who was in turn inspired by real-life restorative justice sessions. Rymer said, ''When I read the play, I laughed, I cried. I couldn't believe that I could ever care so much about such an ordinary scenario.''

ARJAA: The present state of restorative justice

This seven minute video presents several short interviews from individuals who attended the conference of the Abbotsford Restorative Justice Association in 2010. The speakers talk about their restorative justice experiences in various areas including the Rwandan genocide, immigrant communities in Canada, and schools.

Restorative Justice Radio Interview

In this five minute video, Harvard criminologist Christopher Stone and filmaker Roger Graef discuss restorative justice.

Javed Kahn, Chief Executive, Victim Support (UK)

In this 14 minute video from the Victim and Witnesses: Improving practice and provision conference held in London on 20 October 2010, Javed Kahn outlines the work of Victim Support. He describes the voluntary service to meet the needs of crime victims and calls for some changes to strengthen support to victims. Among these are restorative practices and outcomes.

Crispin Blunt on supporting victims and witnesses

In this 15 minute video from the Victim and Witnesses: Improving practice and provision conference held in London on 20 October 2010, Crispin Blunt outlines the government's plans to provide more support for victims and witnesses. He includes restorative justice services as a part of the recommendations.

Restorative Justice Community Action

This two-minute news story from 2008 highlights the work of Restorative Justice Community Action in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

Lakes Area Restorative Justice -- Making our Community Better

This 10-minute YouTube video provides an over few of the Lakes Area Restorative Justice Project in Minnesota, USA. It explains what restorative justice is and the process that is used. Victims, offender support persons, volunteers and a police officer all share their perspectives.

Defining restorative justice

Gerry Johnstone, Professor of Law at the University of Hull, UK, and Larry Moore of Heartspeak Productions, discuss the contested nature of restorative justice. Johnstone outlines three conceptions -- encounter, reparative, and transformative -- and describes how these ideas can work together while also creating division or tensions.

Restorative justice in the community

Debbie Wilde of Glenwood Springs, Colorado, discusses how restorative justice provides communities with positive ways of responding to conflict.

Pushing back: RJ standardization with Jonathan Rudin

In this short presentation for the Conference on Restorative Justice in Vancouve, British Columbia, in 2003, Jonathan Rudin discusses several negative implications of categorising restorative justice programmes and Aboriginal justice programmes together.

Restorative justice in schools -- Mapleton Early College

A high school student describes how participating in restorative justice changed her attitude and approach to school. Her principal describes the positive impacts of restorative justice on the school environment.

Restorative Justice in Schools -- Montbello High School

In this video, practitioners and a student explain the impact restorative practices had on the culture of Montbello High School in Longmont, CO. The suspensions and expulsions fell by 30%.

Restorative justice in justice systems

In this 7:54 minute YouTube video, Officer Greg Ruprecht from Longmont Colorado describes his introduction to restorative justice when first starting his career. He goes on to describe the impact on all participants and how he thinks it is applicable in all crimes.

Restorative justice in victim services

In this six minute YouTube video, Wendy Cohen describes her decision to meet with the mother and brother of the young man that murdered her daughter in 2003. Cohen describes wanting the other mother to see who her son killed and how important she was to everyone. In describing the meeting, Cohen recounts the scepticism of both sides as the meeting began. She goes on to describe the asking of questions and sharing of tears. In describing restorative justice and its impact in her life, Cohen says the system needs to change to allow the process at all levels of offending.