Evaluations of the Sycamore Tree Project®

Documents exploring the impact and effectiveness of the Sycamore Tree Project (R).

A Consideration of the Sycamore Tree Programme and Survey Results from the Perspective of a Restorative Justice Practitioner

The Sycamore Tree Programme (STP), delivered by Prison Fellowship of New Zealand, is a restorative justice programme which brings together a panel of six inmates and six crime victims over eight two-hour sessions. The victims attending these meetings are not the particular victims of the inmates. The programme includes large and small group discussions, victim/offender interactions, role-plays, and readings that create a contemporary retelling of the biblical story of Zaccheus, a man who admits to his offending and sets about to restore to his victims what he has defrauded them of.

Inside out: how does an in-prison victim awareness programme affect recidivism?

This dissertation examines the Sycamore Tree Programme (STP), a programme delivered inside prisons that seeks to utilise the rehabilitative opportunities imprisonment offers by combining it with the essential element of Restorative Justice (RJ): a meeting between offender, victim, and the community. The name Sycamore Tree is taken from the Biblical story of Zacchæus (Zac), the corrupt tax collector, who climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus (Luke, 19:3-5). He becomes a symbolic offender. Jesus noticed him, called him down and they met over a meal. The meeting changed Zac’s life, which he demonstrated by making restitution to his victims and giving half of his wealth to the poor. This story provides the restorative elements of a meeting, mediation, and reparation/restitution.

Sycamore Tree Project Impact Evaluation for Prison Fellowship New Zealand

Forty nine offenders completed an attitude to offending measure (CRIME_PICS II) before and after the Sycamore Tree programme showed significant changes on all scales in the expected direction. While the reduction in victim empathy was not as great as might be expected the changes were nevertheless significant.

Observations of a Visitor—Sycamore Tree Project®

Prepared by Lynne Ridgeway of the Victim-Offender Mediation Unit who attended the final session of the Pilot Programme at Acacia Prison 2005.

Sycamore Tree Project®: What’s the impact?

The Sycamore Tree Project® (STP) offers unrelated victims and offenders the opportunity to discuss the reality of crime and its impact on their lives. Victims tell their stories and hear the stories of offenders. Offenders come to understand the impact of crime on victims and the community and take responsibility for their behaviour. The participant comments above demonstrate the powerful impact these exchanges can have.