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Dissel, Amanda. Restorative Justice Initiative Research Report on the Victim Offender Conferencing Project: November 2002 to October 2003

The Restorative Justice Initiative raised funds for a third year of Victim Offender Conferencing in its four partner sites: Alexandra Community Law Clinic, Odi Community Law Clinic, Conquest for Life in Westbury, and the West Rand Justice Centre. The project has been supported by the Open Society Foundation during the three years. The proposal sought to ensure that the VOC project would continue for a further year, but it also sought to test VOC in relation to more serious offending. The current year was intended to focus on serious offending (such as assault with intention to inflict grievous bodily harm) and domestic violence. It was also intended to pilot mediations at custodial institutions. Because the nature of cases was meant to be different, requiring more detailed preparation, the number of cases to be handled by each site was reduced to thirty cases in the year. In fact, each site was paid for 36 mediations, or three a month (a total of 144 cases). This report reviews the cases dealt with during the 2002/03 year, compares them with cases mediated in the previous two years, and reviews whether these cases did indeed fulfill the expectations of testing VOC with more serious cases and domestic violence. (excerpt)

Coates, Robert B and Umbreit, Mark S and Burns, Heather and Umbreit, Mark S. Why Victims Choose to Meet With Offenders

The data-collection period covered 10 months of program activity, from January through October 2002. Forty-one of the 146 adult victims in the referral pool were interviewed. Of these 41 victims, 18 met in conference with their offenders, and 23 of them did not. Half of the victims who met with offenders during the study period participated in the study compared with 21 percent of those who did not meet with their offenders. In addition to victim interviews, six probation officers responsible for intake and referral and nine mediators/facilitators were interviewed. In order of the frequency of reason given, the following reasons were given by victims for not participating in a conference with their offenders: not worth the time and trouble involved, the matter had already been resolved, too much time had passed since the crime, just wanted the money, and complaint that the system just wanted "to slap the wrist of the offenders." For the victims who participated in conferences, the most frequent reason given was to possibly help the offender, hear why the offender did the crime, communicate to the offender the impact of the crime, and to be sure the offender would not return to commit a repeat offense. One of the most significant findings of the study was that nearly 90 percent of the victims who met with offenders reported that the meeting had been helpful, and just over 85 percent of these victims did not wish that the justice system had offered them more options or services. On the other hand, nearly half of the victims who did not meet with their offenders wished that the justice system had offered more. Some implications of these findings are discussed. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Center, www.ncjrs.org.

Samuels, Fae Ernestine. The Peer Mediation Process in Secondary Schools

The purpose of this study was to investigate the practice and the impact of peer mediation in eight secondary schools. This research is the first to investigate peer mediation in secondary schools. In doing so, it sought to give the peer mediators and other students a "voice." The students explained the peer mediation process, the effects on their personal lives, relationships, school climate and families. The thirty-three participants of the study include eight mediators, two disputants, two non-disputants, six students who refused mediation, seven teachers, one non-teacher and seven administrators. Three students refused to be interviewed. All student participants were eighteen years of age when interviewed. The method employed is qualitative. A personal interview was conducted with each mediator and disputant to investigate what happens during the mediation process, their satisfaction with the process and the impact it is having on them and the school community. Teachers, coordinators of the peer mediation programs and administrators were also interviewed individually to get their perception of the program's impact on the mediators, disputants, other students and the school climate. Data gathered were analysed in four stages. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and the categories and themes were identified and sorted. The findings indicate that peer mediation provides one of the best opportunities for creating peaceful schools. The study is significant because it verifies and brings to the forefront ten issues that are important to the field of peer mediation and conflict resolution. Author's abstract.

Henriksen, Claus Syberg. Victim-Offender Mediation in Denmark: English summary of the evaluation - carried out by CASA (the Centre of Social Analysis)

A victim-offender mediation experiment has now been going on for 4 years in Ringsted, Roskilde, and Glostrup police districts. In victim-offender mediation the victim and the offender in minor criminal cases meet voluntarily face to face to talk about what has happened. It is prerequisite that the perpetrator admits his guilt. The aim of victim-offender mediation is to give the victims the opportunity - by meeting the offender - of dealing with their fear, frustration, and irritation; feelings that may be related to the experience of being the victim of a crime. The aim for the perpetrator is to give him a sense of responsibility and is thus a crime preventive perspective. Victim-offender mediation is led by a neutral mediator. At the outset, police caseworkers ask offenders and victims if they are interested in taking part in victim-offender mediation. If both parties say yes, the cases are sent on to the mediators, who then talk to the interested victims and perpetrators and tell them more about the process and maybe make an appointment for mediation. CASA (the Centre for Alternative Social Analysis) has followed the experiment during all 4 years and this is the final evaluation. The evaluation is primarily based on questionnaires and interviews with victims and perpetrators. (Questionnaires from 57% of all participants - 61% of the victims have answered, and 54% of the perpetrators). Moreover, material has been collected from the police's and the mediators' visitation. Furthermore, some caseworkers from the police, the Chief Constables in the three police districts, and the mediators have been interviewed. CASA has participated in a number of meetings in the three police districts. (excerpt)

Flash, Kimberly. Treatment Strategies for Juvenile Delinquency: Alternative Solutions

Social workers involved in the treatment of adjudicated youth commonly encounter youth sentenced to traditional incarceration or parole as a path to rehabilitation. This article examines alternative treatment strategies for adjudicated youth, namely Victim Offender Reconciliation Programs (often called mediation), Boot Camps, and Wrap-Around Community-Based Care, to help these youth avoid reoffending. While popular with the media, policymakers, or the general public, an evaluation of the literature makes it clear that these programs do not necessarily guarantee lower recidivism rates for program participants. It is evident that further research and evaluation must be done in order to more fully understand the drawbacks and benefits of alternative strategies, and to more appropriately help adjudicated youth and their communities. Author's abstract.

Nelson, Sarah E. Setting the Story Straight: A Study of Discrepant Accounts of Conflict and their Convergence

It is well know that actors and observers differ in their attributions for everyday actions. While these difference in how people interpret their own and others’ behaviors are pervasive, they become particularly significant when the behavior is perceived as a transgression. The conflicting perspectives of the transgressor and victim as well as the differing judgments of responsibility and intent that follow can lead to conflict, distress, and even violence. The following three studies confirm the discrepancy between victim and transgressor attributions for a transgression, explore what happens where these conflicting perspectives come face to face, and investigate how the different parties’ “storiesâ€? of the transgression can be reconciled. In the first study, college students thought of a transgression either they had performed or of which they were the victim and provided explanations and ratings of blame, intent, and controllability. As predicted, victims and transgressors provided different explanations for the acts, and victims assigned more blame and intent than transgressors. The second two studies tested a model of conflict resolution according to which disclosure and perspective taking would lead to conflict resolution through increasing shared understanding between two parties. The second study examined audio taped mediations sessions between offenders and either their victims or community members representing the victims. The tapes were coded for instances of perspective taking and self-disclosure. Mediations involving the victim were more successful and included more self-disclosure by the victim than community member mediations. Perspective taking and disclosure behaviors of victims/community members and offenders were distinctively predictive of mediation outcomes. To more stringently test the model, a third study was conducted under controlled laboratory conditions in which roommates were audio taped discussing conflicts. Author's abstract.

Vieira, Tracey A. Do Emotions Play a Role in Young Offenders’ Suitability for Diversion to Victim-Offender Mediation?

The arousal of state shame and guilt following diversion to victim-offender mediation (VOM) or traditional alternative measures (AM) was evaluated within a sample of youths (N=32). The relationships between this emotional arousal, shame or guilt proneness, empathic orientation, and victim presence during sanctioning were also explored. Finally, an investigation of whether these individual emotional characteristics predict short-term, prosocial outcomes (i.e., satisfaction, positive attitude) was conducted. State guilt was significantly aroused among offenders diverted to VOM, however, only when a victim representative rather than the victim participated in mediation. Regression analyses demonstrated that pre-sanction guilt levels and cognitive empathic orientation significantly predicted the magnitude of guilt arousal, and in turn, guilt arousal predicted greater post-program satisfaction and positive attitude. These findings conflict with the perspective that shame arousal underlies the success of VOM and indicate a need for attention to how mediation differs according to victim versus victim representative involvement. Author's abstract.

White, Linda Lou. Hope in Process: A Qualitative Study of Victim Offender Mediation/Dialogue in Texas

This qualitative case study explored the nature of the experience of victim-offender mediated dialogue (VOMD) in the state of Texas. The participants whose narratives were examined included the victims and offenders from four crimes of extreme violence and the staff of mediators who prepared each of these dyads for a face-to-face encounter. Analysis of the data revealed that the motivations for both victims and offenders were reciprocal. The victims usually wanted a chance to have the offenders acknowledge their pain, answer their questions, and express remorse for the violent act that took their loved one. The offenders wanted generally to offer the victims those same small comforts, and possibly, to regain some measure of self-respect by doing so. The ultimate goal for both groups was healing, and their motivations were basically related to a hope that propelled them forward to new ways of living with this past violence. The motivations for the mediators, including the volunteers, had to do with feeling called, as well as blessed, to do this kind of special work they believed made a difference in the world. Other findings included the nature of the process and how it works to provide the healing that the participants seek. I found that it works through the following: (1) a safe place; (2) the use of reflection and self-awareness; (3) empathy; (4) peace and reconciliation; and (5) spiritual transformation. The program was viewed through the lens of transformative learning as defined and theorized by Mezirow. Within the processes fostered by VOMD, I found a strong connection to Mezirow’s process of critical reappraisal of one’s beliefs and assumptions, and to the perspective transformation that he suggests may be possible. The primary perspective transformation that I saw was the new willingness on the part of both victim and offender to see the other’s basic worth as a human being; and this is the study’s key finding. Author's abstract.

Szmania, Susan Jennifer. Beginning difficult conversations: An analysis of opening statements in Victim Offender Mediation/Dialogue

In this dissertation, I provide a discourse analysis of mediators, victims, and offenders’ opening statements in the Victim Offender Mediation/Dialogue (VOMD) program in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. VOMD is available to willing victims of violent crime who would like to meet with their convicted offenders with the aid of a mediator. Previous research indicates that participants are satisfied with the process and outcome of this newly emerging type of mediation, but little research has addressed the communication in these difficult conversations. A general practical question motivates this discourse-centered analysis: how do participants begin the Mediation/Dialogue sessions? Drawing from grounded practical theory, the analysis addresses two levels. First, at the technical level, I use action-implicative discourse analysis to transcribe participants’ opening statements in five cases. Second, at the problem level, I investigate the tensions that are inherent in initial moments of the dialogue, both at an institutional level and at an interpersonal level. The technical level finds that the participants in five cases display prosocial communicative practices in their opening statements. Mediators employ both procedural and orientational features that orient the participants to the ideology and process of the mediation session. Victims acknowledge the offender, equalize their position with the offender, discuss their spirituality, and may also express forgiveness to the offender in their opening statements. Offenders begin by talking about the difficulty of engaging in the mediation session, discussing their identity in relation to their crime, offering an apology, and responding to the victims’ forgiveness when forgiveness is granted. Author's abstract.

Montanez, Joe and Ruth-Heffelbower, Duane. Victim Offender Mediation Refusals: A study of mediator perceptions

Restorative Justice has been described as a way to bring the victim and offender together to promote a better understanding of the consequences of the crime and healing for the victim and community (Gerard, 1996, p.3). With this in mind, the researcher conducted a quantitative random study of why mediation refusals occur. The researcher interviewed 45 Victim Offender Reconciliation Program mediators who had mediated cases between 2001 and 2003. It is the hope of VORP and the researcher that the findings in this study will allow VORP to become more successful at obtaining mediation agreements. The literature found within this paper suggests that the success of mediation is determined by the knowledge of the mediator. We hope that the use of the instrument designed for this study will allow us to determine the areas that may present the most problems for mediators. Victim-offender dialogue in a mediation setting is the primary tool used to bring about restorative justice. A review of the literature on restorative justice and mediation suggests many reasons for the success or failure of the mediation process. Factors shown to contribute to successful mediation include: 1) the mediator’s style, 2) the ability of the mediator to show empathy, and 3) the mediator’s competence. The mediation process, on the other hand, may be unsuccessful due to some of the following reasons: 1) if there is unequal power between the parties involved, 2) if there is a low motivation to come to an agreement, and 3) if there is no follow-up of the offender to make sure he/she complies with agreement that he/she has made. VORP of the Central Valley has an over 99% agreement rate once the parties agree to mediate. The research process here will utilize a case analysis to examine reasons for success or failure during the lead-in to the mediation process in the Victim Offender Reconciliation Program in Fresno, California. (excerpt)

Balahur, Doina. Romanian juvenile justice system towards its way to restorative practices.

The practice of VOM in Romania has been experimentally undertaken in Bucharest and Craiova. The two experimental centres have been set up in 2002 based on the partnership between the Department of Reintegration from Romanian Ministry of Justice, Centre for Legal Resources and the Foundation Family and Child Care. The technical assistance has been provided by the experts of DFID from UK. According to the aims and objectives of the VOM experiment only those types of crimes have been selected which are based on the criminal complain of the victim (battering, assault and other crimes against the person, insult etc). The persons - victims and young offenders - have been integrated based on their voluntary consent. (excerpt)

Ghetti, Simona and Mestitz, Anna. What do prosecutors and judges think about victim-offender mediation with juvenile offenders? (What do Italian judges and prosecutors think about victim-offender mediation?)

In Italy VOM has been experimented mainly within the juvenile justice system since the early 90s. Juvenile magistrates (public prosecutors and judges) may dispose for VOM as a part of the criminal proceeding. In our previous research (Mestitz & Ghetti, 2002) we documented that juvenile magistrates were directly involved in the promotion and creation of 6 of the 9 Mediation centres existing in Italy at the time of the research. Considering that juvenile prosecutors and judges are the only professionals who can dispose for mediation, and they seem to have a central role in ensuring the very existence of VOM in Italy, we may expect that in those jurisdictions in which VOM centres exist, mediation is attempted in a sizeable percentage of cases. Instead, when we examined the proportion of juvenile crimes reported to the authorities in the jurisdiction in which VOM centre is available, we found that mediation is attempted in a very small percentage of cases (e.g., 8% in 2000). Thus, we wondered whether despite the initial enthusiasm and/or support, there is now some attitudinal resistance to rely on mediation. (excerpt)

Soria, Miguel Angel and Guillamat, Ansel. VOM with Adults and Recidivism.

The objective of our investigation is to analyze if the effects of the mediation process affect significantly the parts implied in it and, in second term, its later consequences to eliminate or to reduce the criminal and/or violent acts. To such aim, the judicial files of mediation made between year 2000 and the 2005, as well as its effects on the recidivism of the offenders and its characteristics, were analyzed. (excerpt)

Sudipto, Roy. "Victim Meets Offender: A Comparative Study on Juveniles and Adults in a Midwestern County"

Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP) is a special mode of conflict resolution between victims and offenders. It has appeals to both parties. Face-to-face encounter is the essence of the VORP process. Mediation and reconci-liation make offenders accountable and responsible for their criminal acts and also committed to recompense their victims’ damages. In turn, the process is expected to reduce reoffending among the participating offenders. This study compares the impact of a VORP for juveniles and adults in Elkhart County, Indiana. This post-adjudication restitution program is operated by the Center for Community Justice - a private agency. Data were collected on the participating offenders from July, 1989 to June, 1990 (fiscal year of the Center); then, they were followed through the end of June, 1992 (2 year follow-up) for recidivism reports. In this study, the ’impact’ of the VORP was measured in terms of offender compliance with restitution contracts and offender recidivism.

Urban, Lynn S and Burge, Sara E.. Victim/Offender Mediation in St. Louis: An Assessment.

This evaluation of St. Louis' Victim/Offender Mediation Program (VOM) determined whether juvenile participants had fewer subsequent referrals to the court. If the goal of VOM was to reduce the number of subsequent court referrals, it was apparently successful. Juveniles who participated in a mediation session with the victim of their offenses had significantly fewer subsequent referrals compared with juveniles who did not participate in the VOM. Although this finding confirms prior research (Nugent and Paddock, 1995; Wiinamaki, 1997), there are still many unanswered questions regarding why these reductions in referrals occurred, as well as whether mediation provides the best alternative for juvenile offenders. Victim participation in VOM was the key to a completed mediation. Although very few juveniles declined to participate in VOM after being informed about the program, a significant number of victims declined to participate or never responded to inquiries by court staff. The mission of St. Louis' VOM is to "bring juvenile offenders together with their victims in a face-to-face meeting for the purpose of sharing feelings, repairing harm, discussing the facts of the offense, and to develop restitution and restoration agreements" that benefit all parties. VOM's assumption is that by meeting directly with the victim of his/her crime, the juvenile offender becomes more aware of the harms caused by the offense and the importance of being accountable in repairing the harm and changing his/her offending behavior. Subsequent court referrals were determined from juvenile court records for those who completed the VOM (n=118), eligible juveniles who did not participate in VOM (n=434), and eligible juveniles who began but did not complete VOM (n=491). The precise length of time for these juveniles to be "available" to reoffend was unknown because of data limitations. (Abstract courtesy of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.gov).

Löschnig-Gspandl, Marianne and Kilchling, M. Victim/Offender Mediation and Victim Compensation in Austria and Germany: Stocktaking and Perspectives for Future Research

Victim/offender mediation according to Austrian legal doctrine is the generic term for various ways of compensating victims. This includes compensation for any personal injury, loss, or damage caused, whether directly or indirectly, by an offense; reconciliation talks, apologies, and help for the victim; and community service or payments to public welfare institutions. In Austria, victim/offender mediation is a central feature of juvenile justice processing. Germany's criminal law provides for various forms and benefits of mediation for victims of juvenile and adult offenders. These include face-to-face meetings between victim and offender, as well as requirements that offenders compensate victims. From 1992 to the end of 1995, approximately 5,500 charges against adult offenders were settled through victim/offender mediation in Austria. In Germany, from 1977 to 1993 victim compensation imposed by public prosecutors declined from 1.5 percent to 0.7 percent of all dismissed cases. Compensation imposed in cases of court dismissals, however, remained constant at approximately 8.5 percent. In absolute numbers, this is approximately 5,200 cases a year. Evaluation research indicates that victims are most satisfied with victim/offender mediation programs that result in compensation for the victim. They are less committed to mediation that focuses on reconciliation and the resolution of conflict between the victim and the offender. 98 footnotes

Nugent, William R and Paddock, Jeff and Umbreit, Mark S and Paddock, Jeff and Wiinamaki, Lizabeth and Umbreit, Mark S. Participation in Victim-Offender Mediation and Reoffense: Successful Replications?

A study was conducted to determine the extent to which four investigations of the effect of participation in victim-offender mediation (VOM) on reoffense were successful replications. Method: The data from these four studies were combined and statistical analyses performed to determine if differences between studies were attributable to sampling variability. If the differences between studies were statistically nonsignificant, the results would be consistent with the four studies being successful replications of each other. Results: The results were consistent with the four studies representing a successful replication series. Analyses of the combined samples of 1,298 juveniles indicated that VOM participants reoffended at a rate 32% lower than nonparticipants. Conclusion: The difference in reoffense rates was more than three times larger than the average effect associated with interventions for delinquency found in a recent meta-analysis. These results suggested that VOM participation was associated with significant reductions in delinquent behavior.

Pelikan, Christa. Victim-offender mediation in domestic violence cases-a research report

In this paper, Pelikan examines the results of empirical research into the issue of victim-offender mediation in domestic violence cases, with emphasis on the situation in Austria.

Umbreit, Mark S. Restorative Justice Through Victim-Offender Mediation: A Multi-Site Assessment

The relatively new and emerging practice theory of restorative justice emphasizes the need to provide opportunities for those most directly affected by crime (victims, communities, and offenders) to be directly involved in responding to the impact of crime and restoring the losses incurred by victims. Victim-offender mediation, a process which allows crime victims to meet fact-to-face with the offender to talk about the impact of the crime and to develop a restitution plan, is the oldest and most empirically grounded restorative justice intervention. This article reports on a study of victim-offender mediation in four sites with juvenile offenders and their victims, along with related studies. High levels of victim and offender satisfaction with the mediation process have been found, along with high successful restitution completion rates and reduced fear among crime victims

Umbreit, Mark S. "Mediation of Criminal Conflict: An Assessment of Programs in Four Canadian Provinces: Executive Summary Report."

This executive summary describes a study of community based non-profit organizations that provide mediation services for referrals from the criminal justice systems in cities in four Canadian provinces. The four program sites offer a wide range of diversity in program design, community acceptance, caseload size, history, management procedures, and impact on the criminal justice system.