Article Title
Participation in Victim-Offender Mediation and the Prevalence and Severity of Subsequent Delinquent Behavior: A Meta-Analysis
Abstract
Recently there has been the reemergence of an ancient philosophy ofjustice that has been called "restorative justice."' In this philosophy, a crime is viewed as an offense against a victim, and the emphasis is on resolving conflict, repairing harm to the victim, holding the offender accountable to the victim, and returning things as much as possible to the way they were before the offense occurred.' Victim-offender mediation is the oldest and most widely practiced expression of restorative justice. Victim-offender mediation (VOM) programs have most commonly involved the victims and perpetrators ofjuvenile property offenses and minor assaults, though there have been increasing efforts to broaden the scope of these programs to include adult offenders and serious violent crimes. A recent survey found more than 300 VOM programs-also referred to as victim-offender reconciliation programs-in North America and more than 700 in Europe. In about 80% of VOM programs, the mediator (usually a trained community volunteer) meets initially with crime victims and offenders separately, Following these separate sessions, which help prepare the victims and offenders for subsequent dialogue, there is a mediation session, which is the heart of VOM. The goal of the mediation is to create an environment that allows the involved parties to engage in a dialogue in which emotional and informational needs are met and in which a plan for the offender "to make things right," as much as possible, is developed. About 87% of VOM sessions result in a restitution agreement.