Although criminologists have long used the offender's own story to shed light on crime and its possible causes, they have not plumbed its potential as an explanatory variable. This article considers the way narrative has been conceptualized in criminology and the way that it might be re-conceptualized, following scholarship in other social sciences and in humanities, as a key instigator of action. The concept of narrative is useful for the projects of contemporary criminology because it: (1) applies to both individuals and aggregates; (2) applies to both direct perpetrators and bystanders;(3) anchors the notion of (sub)culture; (4) circumvents the realism to which other theories of criminal behavior are bound; and (5) can be readily collected by researchers, though not without confronting the problematic that is the socially situated production of discourse.

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Increased interest in the restorative justice programs is accompanied by concern for whether they work and through what basic processes. Yet the task of evaluating restorative justice programs is a daunting one because they are so diverse, pursuing unique and multiple objectives. Restorative justice is guided by values that emphasize healing and social well-being of those affected by crime. These values must guide program evaluation. The authors explore ways to conceptualize and measure program inputs and outputs for the purpose of assessing both processes and outcomes of restorative justice programs.Citizens and policy makers are becoming increasingly familiar with restorative justice, and interest is turning to its effectiveness. As with most social interventions, the future viability of restorative justice is largely dependent on the findings

This paper situates narrative criminology within criminology and the academy at large. Narrative criminologists ask how narratives, particularly narratives of the self, influence criminal and other harmful action. The idea that our stories shape our experiences is well developed in the humanities (literature, philosophy) and in the social sciences (anthropology, history, psychology, sociology). However, criminologists have caught on to that idea only recently, which is especially curious given abundant evidence of the impact of storied ideology on mass violence. This paper therefore addresses two critical questions: what is new and important about narrative criminology, and why has criminology only recently taken the narrative turn that other academic disciplines took decades ago?