Deanna Van Buren designs restorative justice centers that, instead of taking the punitive approach used by a system focused on mass incarceration, treat crime as a breach of relationships and justice as a process where all stakeholders come together to repair that breach. With help and ideas from incarcerated men and women, Van Buren is creating dynamic spaces that provide safe venues for dialogue and reconciliation; employment and job training; and social services to help keep people from entering the justice system in the first place. "Imagine a world without prisons," Van Buren says. "And join me in creating all the things that we could build instead."

Watch Van Buren's Ted Talk, read the article from Time here and the article attached from New Internationalist.

Should prisons be abolished?

How would you deal with anti-social behaviour?

What are the alternatives to prison?

How effective are prisons in terms of punishment, deterrence, rehabilitation and retribution? Use the worksheet attached to help you organise your thought on this question. You may find the Bromley Briefings Report useful to help you with data on this issue along with this Guardian article.