NCJ Number
100423
Date Published
1985
Length
90 pages
Annotation
Two types of innovative dispute resolution programs in Great Britain are described: community mediation, wherein trained volunteers help mediate disputes between parties who have some direct personal connection, and reparation schemes, in which offenders compensate their victims through payments, services, or a symbolic exchange of forgiveness and apology.
Abstract
The report traces the historic development of mediation and reparation efforts in Great Britain and how they are being used in the criminal justice context. Descriptions of individual programs are arranged in the following categories: community dispute-settlement, police-based mediation schemes, police juvenile panel reparation schemes, reparation within intermediate treatment programs for juveniles at risk of becoming habitual criminals, probation-run court-based reparation programs, other court-based reparation projects, family conciliation, and indirect reparation. A discussion of emerging issues in the mediation/reparation field covers the aims of mediation and who benefits, the relationship of such programs to the justice system, the dangers of mediation, and professional standards. The report contains 16 references, a glossary, a list of the projects surveyed, an index to current research on mediation/reparation, and an annotated bibliography of approximately 200 citations.