Insight Prison Project

Description

IPP is a pioneer in the field of Restorative Justice. It was founded in 1997 in San Quentin, and is now offered throughout the state in prisons, jails, and reentry facilities. IPP's Victim Offender Education Group (VOEG) offers a rare opportunity for crime victims to participate in the criminal justice system. Every VOEG group culminates in a Survivors’ Panel, in which people who have been victims of crimes similar to those committed by the offenders, can share the impact of crime with offenders. This is a unique and critical element of VOEG, as offenders can be accountable directly to a victim of violent crime. It allows survivors to see and hear accountability, remorse, and empathy directly from offenders. Meeting face-to-face with victims is the single most important factor in transforming harmful behavior and the subsequent empathy that is developed by sitting with and hearing from the victims of violent crime.