Rethinking Prison Disciplinary Processes: A Potential Future for Restorative Justice

Abstract

The movement for restorative justice (RJ) has struggled with marginalization on the soft end of the criminal justice system where the threat of net widening and iatrogenesis looms large. To realize the full potential of RJ as an alternative philosophy of justice, restorative practices need to expand beyond the world of adolescent and small-level offenses into the deeper end of the justice system. Disciplinary hearings inside of adult prisons may be a strategic space to advance this expansion. This article presents findings from a study of prison discipline in four U.K. prisons. The findings strongly suggest that in their current form such disciplinary proceedings are viewed by prisoners as lacking in legitimacy. Although modeled after the adversarial system of the criminal court, the adjudications were instead universally derided as “kangaroo courts” lacking the basic elements of procedural justice. Based on these findings, we argue that RJ interventions may offer a viable redress to these problems of legitimacy which, if successful, would have ramifications that extend well beyond the prison walls.

Keywords:

• legitimacy
• prison discipline
• prison misconduct
• procedural justice
• restorative justice

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge ARCS (UK) Limited. This research was funded by a subcontract from ARCS (UK) Limited, Cambridge, UK and the authors want to acknowledge Mark Liddle, ARCS (UK) Limited Managing Director. The authors would also like to acknowledge the prison service management, prison governors, officers, and prisoners who facilitated and participated in this research. Without their assistance and willingness to cooperate with the research, this project would not have been possible.

Notes

1. Although, somewhat predictably, Payne and Welch’s (2015) national survey found that schools with proportionately more African American students are less likely to employ restorative techniques in response to student misconduct than schools with majority-white student populations.