Russ Takaki

Recipient of Pioneer of Restorative Practices Award

  Russ Takaki is a famous surfer from Hawai'i who was also the head of Hawai'i's paroling office in the 1970s. When Mr. Takaki was administrator of the parole office the state's recidivism rate for parolees was only 5% which was the lowest in the United States at the time. Today, Hawai'i's recidivism rate is one of the highest in the country.

  Mr. Takaki was far ahead of his time in corrections and justice interventions and intuitively applied restorative practices. He personally helped parolees find jobs, he took them surfing and he brought them home for dinner with his family. He treated them with respect and worth and he honored their successes in staying law abiding.

  Hawai'i Friends awarded Mr. Takaki its first Pioneer of Restorative Practices Award in March 2010 in a symbolic ceremony held in the Hawai'i Supreme Court honoring parolees being discharged from parole that month. Mr. Takaki is in his 90s and was unable to accept his award which was received by his two long time friends, and equally famous Hawaiian surfers, George Downing and Wally Foriseth. The pilot project for parolees being discharged is discussed further under Hawai'i Friends' Work below.

Hawai'i Legislature Passes Huikahi Restorative Circles Resolution

Senate Concurrent Resolution 192 Passed April 2010

  SCR 192 passed by the 2010 Hawai'i legislature, requests that the Hawai'i state department of public safety, which administers correctional institutions, help provide delivery of the Huikahi Restorative Circles in state prisons and support grant applications to fund the Circles.  Hawai'i Friends developed the Circles and has done research on their effectiveness to bring healing to people harmed by wrongdoing, and to also influence law abiding behavior by incarcerated people. 

  A new paper was published in July 2010 reporting results of preliminary research of a sample of 23 people out of prison for 2+ years who had Circles. The research shows the Circles help families heal and recover when a member commits a crime and is incarcerated, and that the Circles help reduce repeat crime. Please see: Huikahi Restorative Circles: A Public Health Approach for Reentry Planning, Walker & Greening, Federal Probation, June 2010 http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts/ProbationPretrialServices/FederalProbationJournal.aspx