The BSC Northern Ireland Regional group and Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice are pleased to announce that Dr Kate Doolin (University of Auckland) will give our next seminar entitled ‘Building a Restorative Culture in Prisons: From ‘Doing’ to ‘Being’ Restorative’.
The seminar draws on findings from Dr Doolin’s recent research report with the Restorative Justice Council UK, Building a Restorative Culture in Prisons – Volume One (Doolin & Simon, 2025), and knowledge-exchange events in New Zealand, Northern Ireland, and England involving policy leaders, prison leaders and staff, restorative justice providers and practitioners, and community organisations to examine the appropriateness and effectiveness of prisons as settings for restorative justice. Implementing restorative justice in environments defined by control and punishment raises critical questions: Can prisons embody restorative values? Does restorative justice offer genuine alternatives or merely soften punitive systems? What risks arise when prison culture reshapes restorative justice more than restorative justice reshapes the system? The seminar will unpack these questions and explore the shift needed to move 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.
This seminar will be held in the at 2pm Wednesday 7 October 2026 in the Steven Livingstone Room, School of Law (Main Site Tower, Room 02.003). All are welcome to attend but please register your attendance here for catering purposes.