This interactive workshop shares key insights from a joint research programme on restorative justice in prisons, building on findings from the Restorative Justice Council UK’s Building a Restorative Culture in Prisons – Volume One (Doolin & Simon, 2025). Participants will explore how restorative approaches can help prisons move beyond isolated interventions toward whole-system cultural change.
Through a mix of discussion and facilitated activities, participants will explore the shift from ‘doing’ restorative justice in prison - responding to incidents of harm - to ‘being’ restorative - embedding restorative values such as accountability, repair, and respectful relationships across everyday prison life. Drawing on case studies, international learning, and lived experience, the workshop examines how restorative approaches can help address violence, staff assaults, and damaged relationships between people in custody, their families, and communities.
Participants won’t just hear about the research - they’ll work with it. Participants will take part in practical exercises to reflect on their own context, explore tools for change, and co-create ideas for starting to build a restorative culture within prisons.
Whether you are a practitioner, policymaker, researcher, or community partner, this workshop offers an engaging opportunity to rethink what restorative justice can achieve in custodial settings and how it can help prisons not just function, but thrive.
×
Dr Katherine Doolin PhD
Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Dr Katherine Doolin is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand, having previously held academic positions at the University of Birmingham and the University of Kent in the UK. She has also been a Visiting Scholar at the University of Cambridge and the University of Bath in the UK, and KU Leuven in Belgium. Dr Doolin researches and teaches in the areas of criminal law and criminal justice, with particular expertise in prison violence, prison gangs, and prison safety; restorative justice; and youth justice. She has recently completed an international, comparative empirical study of prison violence in male prisons in England, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, and is currently undertaking a research programme on restorative approaches in prisons with the Restorative Justice Council UK.
×
Jim Simon
Chief Executive Officer, Restorative Justice Council, England
Jim Simon has served as the Chief Executive of the Restorative Justice Council (UK) since April 2019, bringing over 21 years of experience in education. A seasoned head teacher, practitioner, and trainer in restorative practices, he has effectively led the strategic development and implementation of restorative approaches across educational, youth, and criminal justice sectors. For the past five years, Jim has chaired the Advisory Board of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Restorative Justice, during which he spearheaded a nationwide inquiry into the application of restorative practices within the criminal justice system. Recently, he also directed an investigation into these practices in the educational, health, and social care sectors in the UK. In addition to his role at RJC, Jim is an active founding member of the Global Alliance for Restorative and Social Justice, collaborating with like-minded individuals on a global scale to promote the integration of restorative practices for a fairer society. His contributions in this field emphasise his commitment to creating a just and equitable society.
