Victim-offender Mediation Programs Research Articles

Applicability and uses of the online environment in restorative mediation: towards a digital restorative justice?

ABSTRACT While the historical role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in restorative justice has been marginal, the paradigm has shifted notably since 2020, prompted by the exigencies of the pandemic. This transformation was especially visible in victim-offender mediation (VOM) programs, particularly during the critical phases of the health crisis across Europe. Despite the persistence of some restorative services in utilizing ICT tools, the scholarly discourse on this evolving landscape remains notably scant. Addressing this gap, this research adopts a qualitative approach, delving into the experiences of 26 facilitators in Spain (N = 26). Through in-depth semi-structured interviews and subsequent inductive coding and thematic content analysis, the study seeks to unravel the nuanced dynamics of employing ICTs in restorative justice and restorative mediation contexts. Specifically, the research explores their impact on communication processes, spatial dynamics, process quality, and participant security. The findings not only underscore practical implications for current practices but also open avenues for contemplating the transformative potential of digital tools in shaping the future trajectory of restorative justice. This study aims to propose valuable insights into what works, what doesn’t, and how restorative justice services could optimize their functioning within the broader criminal justice system through judicious use of ICTs.

The Psychological Impact of Participation in Victim-Offender Mediation on Offenders: Evidence for Increased Compunction and Victim Empathy.

Participation in victim-offender mediation (VOM) can reduce the risk of reoffending. However, relatively little is known about how VOM affects the intermediate psychological changes underlying this effect. It was hypothesized that VOM increases feelings of responsibility, guilt, and shame among offenders as well as empathy toward the victim. It was also expected that VOM leads to feelings of moral failure among offenders, increasing their intention to desist, and improving their relation with the victim, relatives, and community. Lastly, it was hypothesized that offenders may experience reduced rejection, concerns about condemnation, threat to their social moral identity, and victim blame following VOM. To this end, we compared psychological changes in offenders who participated in a VOM program in the Netherlands with those of offenders who were willing to but did not participate (total N = 86). A quasi-experimental, pre- and postmeasure research design was used to compare these groups. Our findings tentatively suggest that offenders who participate in VOM have more responsibility-taking and victim empathy, feel more guilt and shame, and experience higher moral failure than offenders who do not participate in VOM do. Offenders also reported feeling significantly less awkward about meeting the victim again after VOM. Future research should address how and to what degree these psychological changes translate into a lower risk of reoffending.

Evaluating the Extrajudicial Measures and Sanctions within the Youth Criminal Justice Act

Since the introduction of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), there have been some concerns about the effectiveness of young people utilizing extrajudicial measures and extrajudicial sanctions. This article investigates if the implementation of these measures has created positive impacts for young offenders or if it is equivalent to just “a slap on the wrist.” Using a lens of restorative justice, the strengths and weaknesses of youth circles, youth committees, and victim-offender mediation programs are examined. This article explores the roles of those involved within extrajudicial measures and sanctions and addresses the gaps that exist within this section of the YCJA. Ultimately, this article finds that the restorative justice practices of extrajudicial measures and sanctions are effective at supporting young people throughout the legal process. It discovers that the programs offered for young offenders can give them a voice in their situation and create a connection to their community. However, there are changes needed in the areas of consistent data collection, proper fund allocation, and programming availability.

A Study on the Correctional Welfare Practice Involvement for the Participant of the Program based on Restorative Justice - focused on the Case served by Correctional Welfare Practice for 17 years -

This is a study on the participant in the Victim-Offender Mediation Program based on Restorative Justice in early 2001. From the time to the end of 2018, examining changes in his life for the 17 years is the research purpose. The served correctional welfare practice activities and his various life changes during the 17 period of time were analyzed in a qualitative research method. The changes in his behaviors and social adjustment were analyzed ‘within’ and ‘after the correctional institution’, and the time of ‘after the institution’ was divided into two further: ‘right after the institution’ and ‘the current time’. The results of available data collected during the 17 years show very positive changes in the released person in terms of his perception-thinking-behaviors, and he leads a normal and stable life now. This implies that a proper correctional welfare practice involvement is essential for the offenders both ‘within the institution’ and ‘after the institution’ for the significant amount of time to meet their needs and to deal with their facing problems. Secondly, the forum for victim-offender meeting and dialogue is needed for their sincere corrections stimulated by realizing their own wrong doings and for facilitating their positive changes in their behaviors and lives. For this, the appropriate environments both ‘within the institution’ and ‘in the society’ were required.

Crime seriousness and participation in restorative justice: The role of time elapsed since the offense.

Restorative justice policies and programs aimed at facilitating victim-offender mediation (VOM) are part of many criminal justice systems around the world. Given its voluntary nature and potential for positive outcomes, the appropriateness and feasibility of VOM after serious offenses is subject to debate in the literature. In light of this discussion, this study first aimed to unravel the prevalence of serious offenses in cases registered for VOM and examined whether crime seriousness predicts whether mediated contact is reached between victims and offenders. Second, it tested the hypothesis that victims of increasingly serious, harmful crimes are more willing to participate when more time has elapsed since the offense-in contrast to victims of less serious, harmful crimes. We analyzed 199 cases registered for VOM in the Netherlands and coded the perceived wrongfulness, harmfulness, and average duration of incarceration of an offense as 3 distinct indicators of crime seriousness in these cases. The findings revealed that cases registered for VOM (a) are, in terms of the incarceration duration, on average more serious than all offenses in the population, and (b) resulted in mediated contact (or not) independently of the 3 seriousness indicators. In addition, empirical support was found for the hypothesis that victims' willingness to participate in VOM increased over time after more harmful offenses, whereas it decreased when offenses inflicted less harm. These findings suggest that when VOM programs operate irrespectively of the time elapsed after crime, mediated contact between parties may be as likely after minor and serious offenses. (PsycINFO Database Record

Implementing Restorative Justice Under the Retributive Paradigm

This article explores the implementation of a pilot program in restorative justice in a medium-sized Midwestern city. Through an examination of meeting minutes, interviews, and the personal reflections of the authors, this article examines the implementation of a victim–offender mediation program, referred to throughout the article as the Fast Track Accountability Program (FTAP). Presented as a case study, the authors describe the key stakeholders, the process, the obstacles, as well as lessons learned along the way. Particular attention is given to the essential role of strong leadership and to the challenges faced when implementing such a program within the bureaucracy of the current, retributive, criminal justice system.

Factors Influencing Participant's Satisfaction in a Victim-offender Program

This paper analyses the relationship between external factors, internal factors and satisfaction level of participants in an adult victim-offender mediation (VOM) program. The validated “Criminal Mediation Satisfaction Questionnaire” (CSM-P) was administered to 103 offenders and 110 victims. Analysis explored in the entire sample variables related to satisfaction and the relationship between socio-legal variables, criminal record and mediation process with satisfaction level for victims and offenders as well as for participants with low and high satisfaction scores. Results show high satisfaction among victims and offenders. Victim’ age and absence of aggravating circumstances were related to higher satisfaction levels.

Patterns of victim marginalization in victim-offender mediation: some lessons learned

This article discusses issues that restorative justice programs may face during implementation and lessons learned from an exploratory study. We examined various perspectives of multiple participants who experienced a Victim-Offender Mediation (VOM) program in a mid-sized Midwestern city in the U.S. The primary data source comprised 34 interviews with 37 participants including adult crime victims, juvenile offenders and their parents, mediators, and representatives from referring agencies. Observations complemented the interview data. Findings revealed patterns of victim marginalization during the processes used: victims were not prepared appropriately; were at times pressured by mediators to behave in certain ways; and, occasionally felt intimidated by offenders and/or their families. We discuss some factors that may have influenced the emergence of these patterns. This study revealed gaps between the guiding principles of restorative justice theory and field practices, particularly sensitivity toward victims to meet their needs. We suggest that restorative justice programs should consider using a monitoring system to ensure that the processes used remain consistent with the values and principles of restorative justice.

Who owns this conflict? The challenge of community involvement in restorative justice

As an alternative means of achieving justice, restorative practices are touted as community based. The ownership of decisions regarding the response to crime belongs to the key stakeholders, including victim(s), offender(s), and members of the community, both large and small. Each is invited to participate and through their participation, the stakeholders come to own the justice process and its outcomes. One challenge facing restorative practices lies in getting the community to participate. Without the community, several aspects of justice that are restorative, including forgiveness, support for participants, and reintegration are unlikely outcomes. This research examines community involvement in a victim–offender mediation program through observation and analysis of the agreements produced. The findings suggest that while restorative justice is theorized as community based, the community, in this case, appears absent.

“What! What kind of apology is this?”: The nature of apology in victim offender mediation

This qualitative study examined the multiple perspectives of participants' experiences of a Victim Offender Mediation (VOM) program operating in a Midwestern city. Thirty-four face-to-face interviews were conducted with 37 participants, including juvenile offenders and their parents, adult crime victims, mediators, and referral sources. The findings indicate disparities exist between the juvenile offenders and their victims in their perceptions of the genuineness of the apology delivered. The nature of apology is explored and its meaning in the restorative justice context is set out. This study provides a snapshot of the process and practice of restorative justice work. In particular, this study highlights the complicated nature of communication between and among VOM participants. Recommendations are made to improve victim-sensitive restorative justice practices through the composition and delivery of the apology.

Participation in Victim— Offender Mediation

Victim—offender mediation has grown to establish itself among criminal justice practices as an alternative to traditionally retributive notions of justice. As the number of programs claiming to be restorative in nature continues to grow, victim—offender mediation programs are emerging as one of the state's preferred delivery methods for restorative justice. Restorative practices, including victim—offender mediation, are inclusive practices. Participation is not only encouraged, it is a necessary element for victim—offender mediation to achieve restorative outcomes. Through the use of observations and content analysis of agreements produced in victim—offender mediation, this research uncovers several impediments to individual participation, including problems in the implementation of restorative practices; participant domination, including victim lecturing; and a lack of awareness among the participants about the restorative vision of justice.

Young Offenders Speak About Meeting Their Victims: Implications for Future Programs

Victim–offender mediation (VOM) programs have gained considerable popularity in juvenile courts, yet little is known about how these programs actually influence offenders. This paper explores young offenders’ subjective experiences of voluntary participation in a county‐run VOM program in Minnesota. The authors conducted in‐depth, qualitative interviews with seven young offenders (aged 15–24), and four sets of their parents, who had recently participated in a VOM session with their crime victim(s). Data analysis revealed varying motivations for the offenders’ participation in the sessions, a range of emotional consequences, and some potential for enduring behavior change. Based on these findings, the authors propose guidelines for future practice and research with young people involved in mediation, conferencing, and restorative justice programs.

The Micropolitics of Victim-Offender Mediation

Victim–offender mediation is one of the most widely used practices of restorative justice encounter in the United States. We report findings from research on a victim–offender mediation program sponsored by an American juvenile court. Our specific concern is with power relations at the micro level of the mediation session. Restorative justice has been alternately criticized for controlling its participants too much and for controlling them too little. Some critics point to the silencing of participants, especially those of low social status like youth. Others point to the failure of restorative justice participants to effectively challenge attitudes conducive to crime. We consider the extent to which lay participants were silenced and/or challenged during mediation sessions. Our data suggest that power is diffuse in restorative justice encounters with juvenile offenders and that it is creatively deployed to achieve a variety of purposes. Consistent with restorative justice theories, which consider crime causation broadly, attitudes conducive to crime were not systematically addressed. The analysis underscores the complexity of both restorative justice and its evaluation.

Participation in Victim-Offender Mediation and the Prevalence of Subsequent Delinquent Behavior: A Meta-Analysis

Objective: This article reports the results of a meta-analytic study of the relationship between participation in victim-offender mediation (VOM) and the prevalence of subsequent delinquent behavior. Method: Analyses were conducted with the results of 15 studies, conducted at 19 different sites, with a sample of 9,307 juveniles. Results: The results suggested that methodological factors explained all the significant variation across sites and studies in the magnitude of the difference between non-VOM and VOM groups in their reoffense prevalence. The odds of VOM participants were only about .70 as great as the odds of nonparticipants reoffending. Conclusion: The results support the efforts of social workers to advocate for, develop, and participate in VOM programs.

Victim Offender Settlements, General Deterrence, and Social Welfare

Two relatively new systems - Victim Offender Mediation programs and compromise statutes - are currently experiencing a period of relative growth as states try to grapple with various problems facing the criminal justice system. The feature that distinguishes both of these programs, and thus the feature that requires the most justification, is that they place the victim at the center of the sentencing procedure. This paper seeks to fill a gap in the discussion surrounding these new systems. Advocates of these programs focus almost exclusively on certain alleged benefits of the programs, such as increased victim satisfaction and cost savings. However, no analyst has truly attempted to balance, in an overall sense, the likelihood these benefits actually are realized against the likelihood social welfare is being reduced through other unintended consequences - for instance, the fact that letting the victim set the level of punishment is likely to result in a sanction level that is less than optimal, thereby harming social welfare. Because few actual studies have been done to determine the actual effect of these programs, the paper takes a more generalized approach. It first describes the key aspects of each program, then attempts to determine whether each key variable makes it more or less likely that the programs' claimed benefits will in fact outweigh their likely consequences.

Assessing Satisfaction with Victim Services: The Development and Use of the Victim Satisfaction with Offender Dialogue Scale (VSODS)

There is an increasing need for restorative justice programs to evaluate program outcomes. Victim satisfaction is one of the essential components of program evaluation. Evaluation of victim satisfaction is important because it provides a means by which victims can have input into the restorative justice process: satisfaction data can provide feedback about program services; identify problems and needs from the victim perspective; and provide data that increase knowledge about the process of mediated dialogue that results in improved victim services. Previous research on satisfaction with victim offender mediation has been limited by lack of a standardized victim satisfaction scale. The Victim Satisfaction with Offender Dialogue Scale represents a pioneer effort to measure victim satisfaction with offender dialogue through psychometric development of an instrument (VSODS). Data were obtained from 197 subjects from four victim offender mediation program sites in the United States. The data were analyzed using principal components factor analysis. The first factor derived from this solution accounted for 38% of the total variance and roughly 70% of the common variance. When items with high first factor loading were removed and the analysis repeated, no other factor accounted for as much as 6% of the total variance. To construct a briefer scale for assessing victim satisfaction with services, the factor loadings and item-total correlations of the first factor were examined. Eleven items were selected which loaded highly on the unrotated first factor and which exhibited good inter-item and item-total correlations. The coefficient alpha for the final VSODS was 0.87. This indicates the VSODS is a reliable instrument for assessing victim satisfaction with mediated dialogue. Guidelines for use of the VSODS are provided to enhance program evaluation activities.

Victimology: Past, Present and Future

As popular as victimology has become, it is surprising that no comprehensive history of the discipline has ever been written and there are no systematic assessments of its present state or of likely future developments. The present paper is an attempt to remedy this situation. Victimology is a young, promising discipline and a fascinating subject. And although victimization is as old as humanity itself, it was not until after the Second World War that the scientific study of crime victims emerged as an essential complement to criminology's well-established research on offenders. Because it emerged to fill a serious theoretical void, it did not take long for victimology to become an integral part of criminology. And although victimology has by now affirmed itself as a major research area within criminology, its nature, importance and standing continue to generate a great deal of comments and controversy. Be this as it may, the study of crime victims and of criminal victimization has the potential of reshaping the entire discipline of criminology and may very well be the long awaited paradigm shift that criminology desperately needs. Like criminology, victimology has not followed the same path in every part of the globe. And as with any other discipline, it is more advanced and more developed in certain countries than it is in others. And while there are certain similarities and commonalities in the way victimology developed here and there, there are also significant qualitative and even quantitative differences. Despite this, recent developments in victimology have been both emphatic and dramatic, and the discipline has undergone a radical transformation. The theoretical approaches that characterized early victimology were eclipsed by major achievements in the applied field. This remarkable phase in the evolution of victimology was one of consolidation, data gathering, theory formulation, and above all new victim legislation and sustained efforts to improve the victim's lot and alleviate their plight. In the theoretical field various models were developed in an attempt to explain the enormous variations in victimization risks, the clustering of victimization in certain areas and certain groups, and to unravel the intriguing phenomenon of repeat victimization. On the legislative front there was a flurry of victim bills in a large number of countries. Following the adoption of the UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power by the General Assembly of the United Nations, Victims Bills of Rights were passed by the legislative bodies in several countries. The developments in the applied field were even more spectacular. Among those developments was the creation of state compensation to victims of violent crime, the re-emergence of restitution by offender, and the establishment and proliferation of victim-offender mediation programs. One sector that saw great expansion was that of victim services. Victim therapy became a popular and acceptable way of dealing with the traumatic effects of victimization. Based on this dynamic history and on past and present trends, the paper makes an attempt to identify some likely future developments in victimology. It suggests that a transition from utopian idealism to hard realism will occur, accompanied by growing emphasis on scientific research, particularly qualitative research. It foresees that the need for advocacy and partisanship will decline, and predicts the demise of victim therapy. Future developments in victimology are seen as intimately linked to the acceptance and implementation of the restorative justice paradigm. The conclusion is that victimology will likely develop into a truly scientific discipline and a truly humanistic practice.

Participants' Attitudes in the Utah Juvenile Victim‐Offender Mediation Program

ABSTRACTThis paper describes an archival evaluation of the Juvenile Court Victim‐Offender Mediation Program (VOMP) of the Utah State Courts in Salt Lake City. From 1997 to 2000, 147 victims and 330 offenders reported their attitudes towards their experiences in VOMP. Although victims were more satisfied than offenders for some outcomes, all participants reported exceptionally high satisfaction. These promising results are consistent with other published studies on the effectiveness of VOMP and other forms of restorative justice in demonstrating the promise of mediation in criminal justice.

Victim-Offender Mediation in Germany – ADR Under the Shadow of the Criminal Law?

extract] Unlike in other countries, especially common law jurisdictions, mediation in Germany is most frequently used not in the civil law but within the criminal justice field by victim-offender mediation (VOM) programs. However, the conceptual orientation and enforcement of victim-offender mediation programming within the criminal justice system (especially in Germany) brings some dangers with it – dangers for the traditional criminal justice system as well as for the mediation schemes. Theoretically, there may be more challenges for the criminal justice system, yet in this article I am going to deal with some problematical aspects and consequences of the present predominant implementation of the Tater-Opfer-Ausgleich (TOA), the implementation of victim-offender mediation in Germany.

Victim-offender mediation in Canada

Four victim-offender mediation programs in Canada were evaluated. Victims and offenders who participated in mediation were significantly more likely to be satisfied than similar victims and offenders who were referred to mediation but did not participate. Victims of crime were less fearful of being revictimized by the offender after participating in a mediation than those victims in the comparison group. Broader use of this emerging area of social work practice in North America and Europe should be considered, along with more rigorous studies.