What happens when innovations in the field of justice fail to take root in the criminal justice system? What lessons can we learn from attempts—both successful and unsuccessful—to implement mechanisms that differ from traditional punitive logic?
These are some of the questions that guide the new project that will be led by Daniela Bolívar, an academic at the School of Social Work of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and principal researcher of the Millennium Nucleus Data Justa.
The research project, recently awarded in the ANID Exploration 2025 competition, is titled “Understanding the (un)successful implementation of innovative justice mechanisms in the Chilean criminal justice system”. The study, employing a quasi-experimental design and mixed methods, will analyze the implementation processes of innovations in criminal justice, focusing on restorative criminal mediation and drug treatment courts. It will also seek, through close collaboration with state agencies, to develop strategies to strengthen this implementation.
The proposal brings together an interdisciplinary team of outstanding researchers:
- Jorge Farah, alternate director of the project.
- Jeanne Hersant (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, France).
- Raúl Carnevali, director of the Center for Criminal Law Studies (University of Talca).
- Roberto Dufraix, Faculty of Law (University of Tarapacá).
- Sebastián Galleguillos, adjunct professor at the Center for Criminal Law Studies (University of Talca).
- Ulda Figueroa, coordinator of the Justice Area of the Center for Justice and Society Studies (Institute of Sociology, UC).
This new award represents not only an important academic recognition, but also an opportunity to broaden the dialogues between research, public policy and social transformation.
At Data Justa, we celebrate this push towards new ways of understanding, evaluating, and strengthening justice in Chile.