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Abstract: 

The field of community corrections today has evolved into a primary mechanism for case disposition. Of the more than seven million adults under correctional supervision in the United States, approximately five million offenders (two-thirds under the auspices of the criminal justice system) are punished and rehabilitated at the community level. Although restorative justice is being used to varying degrees in community corrections, current efforts suggest vast underutilization and untapped potential. The balance of this article considers opportunities for restorative justice program implementation and service delivery in community corrections from the perspective of an applied research-practice partnership. In so doing, it advocates for the development of a restorative justice-based theoretical research program for community corrections. After briefly observing the restorative justice movement and the nature and utility of theoretical research programs, it identifies examples of the complimentary goals of furthering criminal justice science and correctional practice.

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Affiliations:  1: University of Texas at San Antonio; 2: Texas A&M University–Central Texas; 3: University of Texas at San Antonio.