Staff Book Launch: Change Makers in Restorative Justice

You are warmly invited to celebrate the launch of Dr Allely Albert’s new book, Change Makers in Restorative Justice: The Transformative Power of Lived Experience, on 22 October at 5pm. The book examines community-based approaches to safety, exploring a unique model of restorative justice centred on ex-prisoner leadership. Two key contributions of this innovative model are analysed: first, the way ex-prisoner lived experience impacts restorative practice; and second, the way the practitioner role reflexively impacts ex-prisoner reentry.
The event will start with an informal reception (drinks and refreshments provided), and will follow with a discussion of the book’s key themes and a Q&A. The event is being organised and co-hosted by the Institute for Criminology and Criminal Justice and the Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice.
In her forthcoming book, Institute Fellow Dr Allely Albert examines non-state justice approaches to community safety and conflict transformation, focusing on the unique model of community-based restorative justice which emerged as part of the Northern Ireland peace process.
The model includes former politically motivated prisoners as managers and practitioners of restorative justice processes, contrasting from designs which ordinarily include such individuals as participants. Using insider ethnographic fieldwork and interviews, two main aspects of this innovative model are explored: first, the impact of ex-prisoner lived experience on restorative practice; and second, the reflexive impact of the practitioner role on ex-prisoner reentry. Although the organisation utilising this approach has received significant international attention for its contribution to Northern Ireland’s wider peacebuilding process, the specific impact of ex-prisoner practitioners on restorative practices has not been investigated.
This book tells that story, demonstrating that ex-prisoner leadership has been crucial in transforming restorative justice—yielding robust practitioner skillsets and positionalities that enhance restorative dynamics, while also generating opportunities that improve reintegration and desistance. It concludes that lessons from Northern Ireland provide essential benefits for restorative justice systems, and, through a pilot study in the US, additionally suggests that lived experience models have the capacity to advance safety, peacebuilding, and social justice mechanisms in other contexts.

Learn more about the book here: