During 2003, 17,545 individuals were released from Missouri correctional institutions, returning to live in communities across the state. During that same year, 18,042 individuals were committed to Missouri’s prison system. Thirty-two percent of those prison commitments were returning parole violators who failed to transition successfully and were returned to confinement. In Missouri, one in 20 adult males is either behind bars or on parole, and more Missourians are behind bars per capita than any state outside the South, according to new U.S. Department of Justice statistics. The source of the problem is the high number of non-violent offenders who are incarcerated in Missouri. Missouri has the eighth highest imprisonment rate in the country. Missouri prisons have about 15,000 nonviolent offenders locked up, costing taxpayers an estimated $195 million a year. The state’s prison population has doubled since 1990, now totaling nearly 30,000, and the costs for taxpayers to operate the prison system has more than doubled in that time to approximately $570 million.
There is a serious fiscal crisis in the state of Missouri that was responded to in the 2005 legislative session with deep cuts in Medicaid. Millions of dollars could be freed up through increased use of restorative justice practices in the state that either replace or supplement prosecution and incarceration.
Restorative justice has been used by indigenous peoples for thousands of years to respond to harm in their communities, and has had a resurgence in use in the United States and internationally. It is supported by many religious denominations, including Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and Jewish.
Restorative justice involves the victim, offender and community, to the extent possible. It is a set of principles that are incorporated into processes that focus on healing the harm to the victim, require the offender to take responsibility and be accountable, and strengthen the community. These processes are Victim/Offender Mediation or Dialogue, Family Group Conferencing, Circle Sentencing, Neighborhood Boards, and… In addition, there are a number of processes that embody many of the principles of restorative justice, but may not include all three of its branches, such as prisoner re-entry
Restorative justice alternatives provide for community mediation centers to intervene in disputes before they escalate into crimes. They also provide for diversion from prosecution and diversion from incarceration, instead allowing for alternative, community-based sentencing. These are the kind of programs recommended by the Missouri Sentencing Advisory Commission.
Restorative justice processes have outcomes that far exceed the current Criminal Justice System, including:
- Increased victim satisfaction
- Increased victim safety
- Increased offender accountability
- Increased offender stability due to avoidance of incarceration
- Offender transformation
- Lower recidivism rates
- Significant cost-savings in terms of prosecution and incarceration
- Stronger and safer communities
The Center for Women in Transition is a diversion/re-entry program for female ex-offenders in St. Louis. This year, women in their program who have successfully worked with a mentor for atleast one month have exhibited only a 5 percent recidivism rate, which is substantially lower than state averages. Part of the mission of the Center for Women in Transition is the promotion restorative justice, which has been largely accomplished through the implemention of a Restorative Justice Initiative. The Missouri Restorative Coalition was created as a part of this initiative. The Coalition is comprised of policy makers, corrections personnel, clergy, providers of restorative justice services, and victim and offender organizations. The Coalition will be promoting awareness of, support for, and additional programming involving restorative justice.
To learn more about why restorative justice is right for the state of Missouri, click here!