Centro de Administração e Políticas Públicas

Project Title:
Restorative Justice at post - sentencing level -supporting and protecting victims

Start and end of project
1/1/2013 a 31/12/2014

Chief Investigator
Prof. Rui Carlos Pereira

Funding Entity
European Union

Research Team:

Proposing institution:

Universidade de Kiel – Germany

Beneficiary Partners:

Framework of the Project:

The project focuses on the development of restorative practices in prison context and it’s based on a qualitative methodology oriented to the development and promotion of communication in the prison environment, support and empathy for the victims of crimes, through a restorative approach. With a close link between the training and the practical component, the adopted methodology will focus on a variety of cases and within different legal and institutional frameworks in the partner countries. It´s expected that the project results will allow the development of support mechanisms for victims and also operational guidelines for professionals in the field, both nationally and internationally. Through this approach, it is also intended to raise awareness among stakeholders and professionals for the importance of restorative justice and its practices, as a way to deal with the consequences of crime, especially the emotional ones.

Summary:

The ISCSP will develop this project in close collaboration with the Directorate General of Rehabilitation and Prison Services in two prison facilities, one male and one female. The goal of this collaboration is to provide restorative practices training to prison staff and inmates. This way, it is intended to raise awareness to Restorative Justice and to the different practices that emerge from it, and also to sensitize inmates for the needs of victims and consequences of crimes in society. Beyond the training component, ISCSP and the Directorate General of Rehabilitation and Prison Services will work together with certain inmates and victims, previously selected in each prison facility, developing with them, through an activeand participative manner, restorative practices in prison settings. The selection of cases will be performed taking into account a diversity ofcrimes, namely considering the legal interests protected and the appliedpenalty. In this context, they will be considered crimes like theft, physical integrity offenses, domestic violence or road traffic related. The aim is to ensure gender and age diversity of inmates and crimes with or without individualized victims.
Restorative processes, which may include mediation and meeting/dialogue between victim-offender, group conferences or restorative circles, will then be developed with theagreement of both inmates and victims. All the work will be monitored by ISCSP investigators, which also will be responsible for the elaboration of activity reports.