Police Role (From Mediation and Criminal Justice: Victims, Offenders and Community, P 229-238, 1989, Martin Wright and Burt Galaway, eds. -- See NCJ-118327)

• NCJ Number: 118342
• Author(s): M R Volpe
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 10 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications Ltd
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

By its very nature, police work lends itself to the use of mediation, either by the police directly or through referral, but mediation is also difficult for police to implement in the context of their traditional crime-fighting role.

Abstract

The effective use of mediation skills and techniques enables police to defuse potentially difficult situations and demonstrate sensitivity toward disputants. By facilitating communication between the parties, especially where they have a continuing relationship, agreements may be reached without official legal action, thereby saving the police and the courts time and money. Barriers to police using mediation directly include traditional police incentives to arrest lawbreakers and punish offenders as well as police tendencies to act authoritatively and impose their decision to resolve a conflict. Police referrals to mediation centers promise to reduce police processing of minor disputes and achieve more effective resolutions to conflicts. Problems in such referrals include the absence of police criteria for such referrals, the development of a police incentive system for such referrals, and provisions for ensuring compliance with a mediation agreement. 4 notes, 28 references.