Building a Restorative Culture in Prisons - Volume Two

PUBLICATION DATE: 30 SEPTEMBER 2026

Building a Restorative Culture in Prisons: Volume Two – A Leadership Guide is a practical resource for prison leaders seeking to embed restorative justice and restorative values within the realities of custodial environments. Written by Dr Katherine Doolin and Jim Simon, this guide moves beyond theory to explore how restorative approaches can strengthen safety, accountability, participation, rehabilitation and repair across prison life.

Recognising the significant challenges facing prisons, including operational pressures, workforce instability and overcrowding, the guide provides a realistic and structured framework for leaders to assess readiness, build the conditions for change and take practical next steps. It introduces the important distinction between doing restorative justice through formal restorative processes and being restorative as a wider cultural and leadership approach, showing how both can work together to create more humane, effective and accountable prison environments.

Designed as a companion publication, Volume Two focuses on implementation, leadership and organisational development. Readers looking for the wider evidence base, research context and practice examples should also download Building a Restorative Culture in Prisons - Volume One, which provides the foundation for this leadership guide.

This resource will be of particular interest to prison governors, senior leaders, operational managers, restorative justice practitioners, policy makers and others interested in developing restorative cultures within custodial settings.