Indianapolis Restorative Justice Project

The Indianapolis Restorative Justice Conference Project is a diversion program within the Marion Superior Court Juvenile Division. The criteria used to determine eligibility for participation in the project require that a youth be no older than 14, be a first-time offender, commit a nonserious, nonviolent offense, have no other pending charges, and admit responsibility for the offense. The eligible charges include assault, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, shoplifting, and theft. During the Restorative Justice Conference process, offenders, victims, and other involved parties come to an agreement that may include restitution, community service, or other elements to address the specifics of this case. The final agreement that outlines the group’s recommendations is prepared and signed by all the participants.

The goal of this program is to divert young first-time offenders from court into a restorative justice process in which the offender and victim negotiate a satisfactory solution.

The key findings from this evaluation indicate that;

- More than 90 percent of victims participating in conferences reported that they were satisfied with how the case was handled. This compared with 68 percent of victims in the control group.
- Nearly all the victims (98 percent) in conferences reported they would recommend this approach to a friend in the same situation. This compared with one fourth of victims in the control group.
- Nearly all the victims in conferences reported that they were involved in the process (97 percent) and that they had the opportunity to express their views (95 percent). The comparable figures for control group victims were 38 and 56 percent, respectively.
- There were not dramatic differences between offending youths and their parents participating in conferences and youths and parents in the control group.
- Youths participating in conferences were much more likely to have successfully completed the conference and the terms of the reparation agreement (83 percent) than were youths involved in other court-ordered programs (58 percent).
- Youths participating in conferences were significantly less likely to have been re-arrested 6 months after the initial incident. The rate of re-arrest was 20 percent for “conferenced” youths, compared with 34 percent for the control group, representing a statistically significant 41 percent reduction. When limited to those youths who successfully completed the diversion program (conference or control group program), 12 percent of the youths involved in conferences had been re-arrested, compared with 23 percent of the control group. This indicates a statistically significant 46 percent reduction.
- Youths participating in conferences were also less likely to relapse 12 months after the initial incident. For youths involved in conferences, 30 percent had been re-arrested. For the control group the comparable rate of re-arrest was 42 percent. This represents a 29 percent reduction and is statistically significant. When limited to youths who successfully completed the diversion program, the pattern was consistent with other results, but the differences did not achieve statistical significance.