Conflict Resolution

Articles about teaching conflict resolution skills to prisoners and on the use of restorative justice process to resolve conflict inside prisons.

South Carolina inmates making peace

from the article by Brian E. Muhammad in The Final Call: Muslim inmates at the Lieber Correctional Institution scored a victory in the area of faith relations and brotherhood by averting a potentially explosive situation stemming from a disagreement between Sunni Muslims and members of the Nation of Islam over perceived sectarian differences. Prison authorities requested mediation after contention and hostilities grew between the groups.

Juvenile offenders must meet with victims under new detention discipline program

from the article by Matt Long on South Carolina Radion Network: The South Carolina agency that handles minor offenders under age 18 is changing how it punishes teens for any wrongdoing they commit once they are in jail. The state Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) has begun a process where the youth will meet with their victims and negotiate their punishment. The agency’s Director of Restorative Justice Andy Broughton says the agency is trying to move away from simply locking up offenders in isolation.

Victim assistance

Lisa, The best link for APAC is www.pfi.org/cjr/apac. Of course, if you read portuguese you can visit http://www.fbac.com.br/. Don't underestimate the amount of victim involvement [...]

Brasilian prison project & restorative justice

Thank you, Lynette. Is there a direct link to APAC that you can provide? I am glad the project has some kind of victim assistance [...]

APAC link

Hi, Lorenn, I'm sorry that link didn't work. Try this one http://www.pfi.org/cjr/newsitems/transforminglives Lynette

APAC and Victims

Lisa, Thanks for your comments. APAC does not use Sycamore Tree Project. However, it has an office of victim assistance. So, on one hand they [...]

APAC prison & victims

Hello, Lynette. Thank you for your post about APAC in Brasil. I was drawn to the work being done in Brasil since I first I [...]

APAC

Thanks for this further information Lynn--it was amazing experiencing the APAC prisons...they are more like clean and sober group homes and communities than prisons. The [...]

APAC's sucess

Lorenn, Thanks for the comment. You are right about APAC's successes in helping the recuperandos change their lives and reintegrate into society. It's amazing just [...]

Principles and stories

Billy, thanks for your comments. I think you are right and there is a need to explain how approaching crime and wrong doing from a [...]

Young in prison

Gary, thanks for your kind words about the article and the work of PFI. I agree with your statements on the need to remember that [...]

APAC

Thank you for this Lynn. It is a sad commentary to assume there is no hope for people, especially youth. And thank you for writing [...]

restorative Justice

A clear reasoned statement. It may be time to spell out the principles and to tell the stories of the various forms of restorative approaches [...]

Prisons - rehabilitation - justice

Lynn is both articulate and accurate and I have nothing to add to her comments - I have the honor of knowing the PFI programs [...]

Prisons, rehabilitation and justice

by Lynette Parker Recently, I read an article about the struggles faced by the state of Florida after the US Supreme Court banned sentences of life without parole for juveniles who do not kill anyone. In the discussion over the need to revisit cases and re-sentence the offenders, one retired judge was quoted: “There are no resources in prisons for rehabilitation,'' the former judge said. ``You give him 30 years, and he'll get out when he's 45, what's he going to do? Re-offend. Some people, regardless of their age, need to be put away forever.”

Prison Ombudsman seeks apologies from staff for unfair treatment of prisoners

by Stephen Shaw, England and Wales Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, writing in Inside Time: As Ombudsman, I have tried to pioneer a restorative approach to complaints investigations. If a prisoner has been treated unfairly, a properly worded apology from the staff concerned is the best way of putting things right.

Workman, Kim. The Future of Restorative Justice – Control, Co-option, and Co-operation

This paper explores the history of restorative justice in New Zealand and lays out a course for the future.

Restorative Justice Consortium.. Restorative justice and prison staff

In that restorative justice aims to repair the harm caused by a criminal act, it addresses both the offender and the victim. One of the chief ways it can do this is through a victim offender meeting or conference. Restorative justice is also being expanded to handle conflict and harm in contexts other than crime. For example, this kind of conference or mediation is increasingly being used to deal with workplace complaints and disputes. In this article the argument is made that restorative processes or mediation could be used in the Prison Service in England. Hence, the article covers the stakeholders and restorative processes that could be applied to complaints and conflict in this setting.

Roeger, Debbie. Resolving Conflicts in Prison

In this article Debbie Roeger reports on Opening Doors of Ohio, Inc., of which she is the founder and executive director. Opening Doors is a not-for-profit organization designed to support conflict resolution in Ohio prisons. The impetus for founding Opening Doors came from a decision by the management of Marion Correctional Institution to change the cultural view of how conflict had been historically addressed and resolved in the prison. It involves skill-building programming for prisoners and staff to learn new conflict resolution skills, as well as alternative processes (including the option of mediation) to resolve actual conflicts in prison.

Nair, Roshila and Flanders-Thomas, Joanna and Giffard, Chris. Advancing a Human Rights Culture in our Prisons: The usefulness of a conflict resolution approach

In 1998, the Centre for Conflict Resolution was invited by Pollsmoor Prison to run conflict resolution workshops for staff members working with juveniles in the Admission Centre. Pollsmoor Prison is the largest maximum security prison in the Western Cape of South Africa. The staff of the prison had identified conflict resolution as an important part of transformation in the prison, especially to reduce violence and to build better relationships among prisoners, staff, and management. The authors of this article report on the Prisons Transformation Project of the Centre for Conflict Resolution, a project influenced by the initial work with Pollsmoor Prison and by the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report.