Restorative Justice and Prison Reform

Crime happens everywhere. No country is immune to its occurrence or impacts. In response, many countries turn to incarceration in order to do justice. But is this approach consistent with a culture of peace? Due to the global prevalence of crime and incarceration, a culture of peace requires processes through which to promote justice and to address the harms caused by crime and violence that reflect the values and tenets of peaceful cultures. This chapter proposes restorative justice as a philosophy and set of practices through which to do justice in a culture of peace and as a way to reform prison so that it is more consistent with that culture.

According to United Nations data, the world experienced an increase in crime in recent decades, growing from 2,300 reported crimes per 100,000 people in 1980 to 3,000 in 2000. The distribution of this increase is not consistent across regions and crimes. While Latin America and the Caribbean experienced a significant increase in crime, the United States and parts of the European Union experienced a reduction. Developing countries report lower levels of crime, but experience a higher proportion of violent crimes compared to property crimes. Developing and middle-income countries, especially those that have experienced civil conflict or political transition, experience higher homicide and robbery rates than developed countries. Although the United States surpasses the average global homicide rate, the EU falls below the average (Shaw et al. 2003).