Restorative Justice is Punching Higher

Marking Restorative Justice Week, we’re taking a closer look at how restorative justice is increasingly shaping discussions around violence, accountability and rehabilitation — and why the evidence behind it is becoming harder to ignore. It also feels especially timely that one of the most compelling stories about restorative justice has made its way onto a West End stage this autumn. 

Putting restorative justice in the spotlight 

This autumn, Londoners may have seen the striking orange posters for a West End play called ‘Punch’ stuck on the walls of corridors and staircases in underground tube stations. Similarly, over the last few years, others may have caught its remarkable true story on the television, radio or social media. 

At its heart is a powerful example of restorative justice – and how it can change lives.  

In the summer of 2011, a 19-year-old called Jacob Dunne threw a punch that took the life of paramedic James Hodgkinson. Against the backdrop of riots that gripped British cities that year, Dunne served 14 months in prison. He returned to his Nottingham housing estate lost, confused and, like 28.3% of people leaving the criminal justice system in England and Wales, poised to reoffend.  

Pained by the tragic loss of their beloved son, frustrated that the man responsible for his absence had received such a short sentence, James’ parents, Joan and David, reached out to Dunne as part of a restorative justice programme with Remedi — a charity that is now funded and being evaluated by the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF).  

How restorative justice helped both the family and Jacob 

Over the next few years, their careful dialogue would spark and sustain a profound process of healing. Joan and David were able to source answers they craved about Jacob’s character and motivations. Jacob was able to derive drive and purpose from their compassion and belief. He returned to education to get his GCSEs, went to university to secure a degree, trained as a restorative justice facilitator, and wrote a book about his journey, Right From Wrong. 

He is now campaigning for restorative justice and victims’ voices with the Common Ground Justice Project. 

Punch 

Playwright legend James Graham caught wind of Jacob’s story and turned it into Punch at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftsbury Avenue, metres from Picadilly Circus. The show has been attended by sell-out audiences and received critical acclaim for its powerful tale of redemption. I can’t recommend it enough — its run closes on 29^th November, though I’m sure it will continue to spread elsewhere in 2026 and beyond. 

Every Tuesday evening, The Forgiveness Project have curated a post-show Q&A about the play’s themes with a group of guest speakers. Earlier this month, I was honoured to take part in one of them, hosted Jacob Dunne himself, alongside Aika Stephenson of Just For Kids Law and Desmond Skyers from St Giles Trust (whose SOS+ mentoring programme is also funded and being evaluated by YEF). 

What the YEF Toolkit says about restorative justice 

As the YEF Toolkit explains, restorative justice is a process that supports the person responsible for a crime, and those affected, to communicate and to seek to repair the harm caused. 

It is rare that a violence intervention in our Toolkit is referenced so directly in popular culture, let alone brought to life so vividly on stage for public audiences to understand, feel and empathise with.  

Fittingly, new research this week shows that restorative justice has a high impact on preventing violent crime and a moderate impact on preventing reoffending.  

Whilst our confidence in the evidence remains low, due to the relatively small number of studies this research is based on, it is nonetheless a promising and hopeful development.  

Restorative Justice seems have potential as a game-changing intervention whose emphasis on communication and reconciliation should inform and inspire us all.