Evaluating Restorative Justice Circles of Support and Accountability: Can Social Support Overcome Structural Barriers?

In a climate in which stigmatic shaming is increasing for sex offenders as they leave prison, restorative justice practices have emerged as a promising approach to sex offender reentry success and have been shown to reduce recidivism. Criminologists and restorative justice advocates believe that pro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology 2018-02, Vol.62 (3), p.739-758
Main Authors: Bohmert, Miriam Northcutt, Duwe, Grant, Hipple, Natalie Kroovand
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accountability
Barriers
Case studies
Criminologists
Criminology
Ex-offenders
Recidivism
Reentry
Restorative justice
Sex crimes
Sex offenders
Social support
Volunteers
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Summary:In a climate in which stigmatic shaming is increasing for sex offenders as they leave prison, restorative justice practices have emerged as a promising approach to sex offender reentry success and have been shown to reduce recidivism. Criminologists and restorative justice advocates believe that providing ex-offenders with social support that they may not otherwise have is crucial to reducing recidivism. This case study describes the expressive and instrumental social support required and received, and its relationship to key outcomes, by sex offenders who participated in Circles of Support and Accountability (COSAs), a restorative justice, reentry program in Minnesota. In-depth interviews with re-entering sex offenders and program volunteers revealed that 75% of offenders reported weak to moderate levels of social support leaving prison, 70% reported receiving instrumental support in COSAs, and 100% reported receiving expressive support. Findings inform work on social support, structural barriers, and restorative justice programming during sex offender reentry.
ISSN:0306-624X
1552-6933
DOI:10.1177/0306624X16652627