Enhance your knowledge of restorative practices with educational resources for criminal justice professionals.
Below is a selection of resources from the IIRP Books & Videos Store.
To view the complete catalog, visit the IIRP Books & Videos Store here.
Restorative Justice Conferencing: Real Justice & The Conferencing Handbook
By Ted Wachtel, Terry O'Connell and Ben Wachtel
$30
Book (paperback), 264 pages
Published by the IIRP in collaboration with the Piper's Press
Two books in one volume: (1) Conferencing Handbook — the official training manual providing a step-by-step guide to coordinating and facilitating restorative justice conferences and (2) Real Justice — actual conference stories showing how conferencing works and how it can change the way our society responds to wrongdoing in schools, criminal justice, the workplace and elsewhere.
Crime, Shame and Reintegration
By John Braithwaite
$25
Book (paperback), 226 pages
Published by Cambridge University Press
Although written without knowledge of the conferencing process, Australian criminologist John Braithwaite's book Crime, Shame and Reintegration provides a sociological explanation for why conferencing works so well.
Braithwaite explains that the desire to avoid shame aids in the development of conscience and social bonds. He distinguishes between two types of shame: stigmatizing shame which rejects and permanently labels offenders and reintegrative shame which only rejects the offender's deed but not the offender himself.
Conferences encourage positive personal change in offenders because unlike courts, conferences allow offenders to shed their offender label and be reintegrated into the community.
Little Book of Restorative Justice
By Howard Zehr
$5
Book (paperback), 64 pages
Published by Good Books
A concise overview of restorative justice, this 64-page book proposes workable principles and practices for making restorative justice both possible and useful. Zehr, known worldwide for his pioneering work in transforming our understanding of justice, is co-director of the graduate Conflict Transformation Program at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA
Shame and Pride: Affect, Sex, and the Birth of the Self
By Donald L. Nathanson
$20
Book (paperback), 496 pages
Published by W.W. Norton & Company
Donald Nathanson' book provides the psychological explanation for why conferencing works. A Philadelphia psychiatrist, author and lecturer, he wrote Shame and Pride before he was aware of conferencing, explaining and building upon the affect and script theories of the late Silvan S. Tomkins.
Nathanson has become an advocate of conferencing. When a crime is committed, Nathanson said in an interview, everyone involved experiences very extreme negative affect, but the court process fails to address this. Conferences, on the other hand, allow for the free expression of affect, which helps people move beyond the negative to the positive and deal with the adverse emotional consequences of the crime.
Burning Bridges
$38
DVD-Video, 35 minutes
Produced by the IIRP and Real Justice
"Burning Bridges" is a 35-minute documentary about the arson of Mood's Bridge, a historic covered bridge in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA, and the restorative conference held in its wake. The International Institute for Restorative Practices facilitated this emotional conference, which brought together the six young men who burned down the bridge with their families and members of the community. Using news footage, interviews and video of the actual conference, the documentary tells the story of a community moving through grief and anger to healing.
NEW Download free discussion guide to help process the video with groups of students and others.
Conferencing for Serious Offenses: An Exploration
$375
5 DVDs (DVD-R) plus 1 CD-ROM
(includes Facing the Demons in separate package)
Produced by Real Justice and the IIRP
This thought-provoking, interactive, “do-it-yourself” seminar package provides DVD videos (and a CD-ROM with printable Facilitator Guide and Participant Handout) for a group of professionals, students or others to examine the use of restorative conferencing in response to serious offenses.
The seminar package provides detailed directions for using the videos. Also included are instructions on how to run a “circle,” which is the format used to structure discussion in the seminar. The use of the circle process provides a truly restorative experience that encourages active participation from everyone attending the seminar.
Please note: This seminar is not intended to train participants to facilitate restorative conferences, but to enhance their understanding of the potential and the implications of conferencing for serious offenses.
Facing the Demons
$75
DVD-R, 60 minutes
Produced by the Dee Cameron Company
Commentary on Facing the Demons:
The Facilitator's Perspective
$30DVD-R, 30 minutes
Produced by Real Justice
Get both videos at the reduced combination price of $95 ($105 if purchased separately).
Facing the Demons is an hour-long documentary video about the journey of the family and friends of murdered victim Michael Marslew, confronting face-to-face in a conference two of the offenders responsible for Michael's death.
Facing the Demons, produced by the Dee Cameron Company, originally aired on the ABC, Australia's public television network. It won an award for "best television documentary of 1999" at the 2000 Logies Awards, the Australian equivalent of the Emmy Awards. In 2000 Facing the Demons earned the United Nations Association Award for Best Television in its annual Media Peace Awards.
The 30-minute Commentary on Facing the Demons: The Facilitator’s Perspective is an essential companion to the Facing the Demons video. Commentary by Terry O’Connell—the Australian police sergeant who facilitated the dramatic conference—answers questions and addresses issues raised by the documentary.
A free 8-page study guide is available to download as an Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file.
Introduction to Conferencing
$38
DVD-R, 18 minutes
Produced by Real Justice
An 18-minute video providing an overview of the origins, theory and practice of conferencing. Contains testimonials from professionals and conference participants, as well as footage of actual and simulated conferences.
Four School Conferences:
A Composite View
$38
DVD-Video, 49 minutes
Produced by Real Justice
Four actual Real Justice conferences were videotaped, with the permission of participants, at alternative schools operated by the Community Service Foundation and Buxmont Academy, sister nonprofit organizations serving troubled youth in eastern Pennsylvania. Footage from the conferences, which were held for offenses ranging from truancy and leaving school grounds to drug possession and bringing a knife onto a school bus, provide viewers with a realistic view of conferencing. Some conferences are highly emotional; others are not. Some conferences produce satisfying outcomes; others are less successful. But follow-up interviews with conference participants show that even a so-called “unsuccessful” conference can produce meaningful outcomes.
Managing Shame, Preventing Violence
$30
DVD-Video, 67 minutes
Presented by the Silvan S. Tomkins Institute
This DVD video, developed in 2003 for American clergy and presented by the Silvan S. Tomkins Institute, has wide application in many settings. In it, Donald L. Nathanson, world-renowned psychiatrist, explains that the interpersonal violence in modern society can best be explained as inappropriate responses to shame. Restorative practices such as conferences and circles are consistent with Nathanson’s suggested remedies. The DVD includes both English and Spanish language versions. The disk can also be inserted into a computer to access a 75-page manual, containing a video transcript, an essay by Nathanson and a set of shame awareness exercises.
Toxic Talk: From Betrayal to Trust in a Workplace
$38
DVD-Video, 22 minutes
Produced by the IIRP and Good Company
Toxic Talk shows an actual restorative conference following a workplace incident, in which staff members demeaned their supervisor behind her back and in the presence of customers.
John Braithwaite/John Blad
$38
DVD-R, 59 minutes
Produced by the IIRP and Real Justice
“Democracy, Community and Problem Solving”
John Braithwaite
Professor of Law, Australian National University
Member of the Centre for Restorative Justice
Criminologist and Author
“Against Penal Instrumentalism”
John Blad
Professor of Law, University of Rotterdam, Netherlands
Gena Gerard/Randy Munro and Violet Smith
$38
DVD-R, 65 minutes
Produced by the IIRP and SaferSanerSchools
“Community Conferencing in Minnesota”
Gena Gerard
Program Manager, Central City Neighborhoods Partnership Restorative Justice Program, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
“The Nanaimo Community Justice Forum”
Randy Munro
Staff Sergeant, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
Violet Smith
Program Manager, Nanaimo Region John Howard Society, British Columbia, Canada
Donald Nathanson
“The Theory and Repair of Communities”
$38
DVD-R, 68 minutes
Produced by the IIRP and Real Justice
Donald Nathanson
Psychiatrist and Author
Tim Newell/Heino Lilles
$38
DVD-R, 67 minutes
Produced by the IIRP and Real Justice
“Restorative Practices in Prisons”
Former Governor of Grendon and Spring Hill Prisons, UK
“Circle Sentencing: Part of the Restorative Justice Continuum”
Heino Lilles
Judge, Yukon Territory, Canada
Sir Charles Pollard and Jackie Keyser/Paul Schnell
$38
DVD-R, 60 minutes
Produced by the IIRP and Real Justice
“Restorative Justice and Police Complaints”
Sir Charles Pollard
Former Chief Constable, Thames Valley Police, UK
Chairman of the Justice Research Consortium
Jackie Keyser
Inspector, Thames Valley Police
“Restorative Policing”
Paul Schnell
Police Officer, St. Paul, Minnesota
Lode Walgrave/Graham Waite
DVD-R, 70 minutes
Produced by the IIRP and Real Justice
“Restorative Conferences with Serious Juvenile Offenders: An Experiment in Belgium”
Lode Walgrave
Director, Research Group on Youth Criminology
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
“Northern Territory Police Juvenile Pre-court Diversion Scheme”
Graham Waite
Superintendent, Northern Territory Police, Australia
Restorative Questions Cards
Produced by IIRP
$10 (Pack of 100 cards)
The essential restorative questions at your fingertips. These coated 2" x 3.5" cards include questions:
- To respond to challenging behavior on one side
- To help those harmed by others' actions on the other side
Restorative Questions Posters
Produced by IIRP
$8 each or $60 for 10
(For other quantities, contact us)
Display the restorative questions for easy reference in a classroom or hallway. This 18” x 24” poster includes questions:
- To respond to challenging behavior
- To help those harmed by others' actions
Restorative Questions Sign
Produced by IIRP
$245
Portable sign displaying the restorative questions for easy reference in schools or on playgrounds. This rugged, 35" x 20" A-frame sign shows questions:
- To respond to challenging behavior on one side
- To help those harmed by others' actions on the other side
Shipping charges determined at time of purchase.
Current News, Articles & Events
EVENTDATES: Mar 12-15 | Bethlehem, PA
DETAILS »
Structured Support and Accountability: 
Community Service Foundation’s Restorative Reporting Centers
DETAILS »
