Dr. Mara Schiff is currently an Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University.  She has held a variety of policy and research positions in government, nonprofit and academic organizations since 1981.  Before coming to academic life, she served as Research Director in the Program Planning Unit in the NYC Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety from 1989 through 1993.   

Mara specializes in understanding the relationship between research, policy and practice and how these arenas can most effectively work together to maximize their individual benefit. Her research and publications have focused on restorative and community justice, substance abuse and juvenile justice.

Mara  is a member of the American Society of Criminology and the International Network for Research on Restorative Justice for Juveniles.  She also currently serves on the Broward County Juvenile Justice Board, and has served as a consultant for the Balanced and Restorative Justice Project, the National Institute of Justice and other local and national organizations.  She works with individuals in non-profit, governmental and academic organizations.  

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Important Idea:

Some of the most important and exciting examples of restorative justice theory and practice have occurred in the form of restorative conferencing:

• victim offender mediation,

• family group conferencing,

• peacemaking circles

• neighborhood boards. 

The most interesting aspect of  these practices is that they offer unprecedented opportunities for individuals to reconcile their interests in the face of criminal harm. At the same time, they potentially empower communities to

• clarify and set norms,

• take responsibility for their own well-being.

Concurrent with the development of theory and practice in restorative conferencing, the concept of social capital has gained momentum as a popular way to understand the "features of social organization such as networks, norms and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit" (Putnam, 1999).

Social capital is continually depleted from the weakest communities when large proportions of their youth are removed and placed into institutions and then returned without sufficient resources for their reintegration.

Over time, local communities have been consistently dis-empowered (albeit unintentionally) by government organizations leaving few opportunities for citizens to take responsibility for their own responses to crime.

Restorative conferencing at various stages in the justice process offers a potentially dynamic vehicle to rebuild (or perhaps to establish) the essential social fabric of the community that can lead to safe and peaceful neighborhoods with neighbors who "get into one another's business." 

-Mara Shciff

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Leading Edge.   Mara believes that restorative community justice has the potential to transform the justice system from one focused on punishment and divisiveness to one that heals, repairs and integrates. Her current primary research interest is in understanding the nature, impact and effectiveness of restorative conferencing processes and how these impact individuals and communities. In addition, Mara is involved in a variety of community-based projects to promote and implement restorative justice locally through victim-offender dialogue and conferencing, delinquency prevention and other community justice initiatives.

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Reach Mara Schiff at mschiff@fau.edu.

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