Restorative Practices and the Life-World Implications of a New Social Science

• Ted Wachtel
• Revista de Asistenja Sociala (2015)

The author highlights the proactive opportunities that restorative practices offer for people to understand one another, collaborate in decision-making and provide safe settings for conflict resolution.

Restorative practice and its applications

Examples of restorative approaches include circle processes, restorative conferences and family group conferences (FGC, also known as family group decision making), as well as other informal adaptations. There has generally been an (incorrect) assumption that restorative practices are used reactively in response to crime and wrongdoing. However, restorative approaches can also be used proactively.

The unifying principle behind all restorative practices is that they engage people in making critical decisions rather than relying on experts or authorities to do so. This is exemplified by the process of doing things with people rather than to or for them. This collaboration helps to build relationships and social capital (the trust, mutual understanding and shared behaviours that bind people together and make cooperative action possible), as well as strengthen social bonds.

The author identifies six areas where restorative practices have delivered positive outcomes:

• In higher education: increasing co-operation and improving relationships in residential life
• In criminal justice settings: helping victims cope with the emotional consequences of crime, helping to reduce reoffending and diverting young offenders from the courts
• With families, in social services and criminal justice: helping them to manage their own problems more effectively
• With "at risk" young people: improving social attitudes and reducing reoffending
• In workplaces: improving morale and personal accountability
• In schools: reducing violence, crime, bullying and misbehaviour.

Evidence on efficacy

With FGCs, there is evidence that when they are of consistently high quality, they can help with the development of positive and creative solutions and outcomes where there are child welfare concerns, including neglect, domestic violence and substance abuse. Conferences allow for families to discuss things privately, without professionals present. This can help to empower families to make their own family plan as well as help to dispel some of their mistrust of social workers. However, research by Barnsdale and Walker shows conferencing may only deliver improvements to services for children if they are offered as part of well resourced core services.

In the criminal justice system, evidence suggests that restorative justice:

• Reduces the costs of criminal justice when used as a diversion from the current system
• Provides both victims and offenders with more satisfaction with justice than the current system
• Reduces repeat offending for some offenders
• Reduces crime victims' post-traumatic stress symptoms
• Reduces crime victims' desire for violent revenge against their offenders
• Matches recidivism rates for young people in prison.

Positive outcomes have also been found following staff training on the use of restorative practices in schools. This is reflected in a decrease in ‘serious' incidents and ‘wrongdoing' in schools, and a move away from the use of sanctions towards restorative practices (Lewis, 2009). Examples include reductions in:

• Fixed-term exclusions
• Drug use
• Incidents of verbal and physical abuse
• Classroom exclusions during lessons
• Disruptive behaviours
• Theft
• Staff absence.

Implications for practice

Restorative practices can be applied in a variety of settings so that, wherever possible, individuals and their families are included in decision-making and provided with support to resolve their own challenges and conflicts. Restorative practices provide an opportunity for people in ‘the system' to have more of a voice and more choice as a consequence for their taking greater responsibility for the outcomes.

A number of restorative approaches have been funded as part of the Children's Social Care Innovation Programme. Evaluations of these projects indicate a number of positive outcomes.