Does Diversion Work? A Conversation about Restorative Justice in NH and VT

In the midst of a renewed national conversation about police brutality, advocates are pointing to a potentially effective alternative that some communities in New England have been testing over the past several decades: restorative justice, the practice of addressing the harm caused by crime rather than viewing incarceration as the only solution. Advocates say it could be one way to reverse our country’s record incarceration rates, others are skeptical it’s an effective solution.

While New Hampshire has a long history of restorative justice practices for juveniles by way of diversion programs, its history with adult diversion programs is more complicated. That’s not the case in Vermont, according to research conducted by team of reporters and editors with The Granite State News Collaborative.

The Granite State News Collaborative, with its partners at NH Bar News and Monadnock Ledger Transcript, will host a virtual conversation Jan. 21 at 6:30 p.m. with diversion practitioners from Vermont in order to better understand how their programs work, their effectiveness and their limitations. Audience members from NH will then have the opportunity to ask questions of the panel to further explore and discuss whether Vermont’s solution would work here.

Audience numbers will be limited, so please reserve your space today. For further information, contact [email protected]