Reconciliation Procedures and Rationale (From Mediation and Criminal Justice: Victims, Offenders and Community, P 56-68, 1989, Martin Wright and Burt Galaway, eds. -- See NCJ-118327)

• NCJ Number: 118331
• Author(s): M Chupp
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 13 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications Ltd
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

Steps in victim/offender mediation are intake, screening, and assignment to a volunteer mediator; preliminary meetings with the offender and victim; the victim/offender reconciliation meeting; and reporting, monitoring, and followup.

Abstract

The overall rationale for victim/offender mediation is to empower the victim, offender, and community to solve their own problems, based on a win-win model of conflict resolution. Together, the victim and offender seek a mutually satisfactory agreement. In the process, the larger community participates through the volunteer mediators and benefits from decreased suspicion and hostility and increased harmony and trust. Intake involves checking for complete information on the referral and logging in the case. Screening ensures that the case is an appropriate referral. Accepted cases are assigned to a community volunteer trained in mediation. Preliminary meetings with the offender and victim involve information on the program, agreement to meet with the other party, arrangements for the time and place of the meeting, and the exploration of restitution possibilities. The victim/offender reconciliation meeting consists of the presentation of facts in the case, the expression of feelings about the case, and negotiation on restitution. Reporting, monitoring, and followup ensures that the restitution agreement is reported and filed and that the terms of the agreement are met. 2 figures, 8 references.