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Victim-offender mediation is the oldest, most widely developed and empirically grounded expression of restorative justice. Restorative justice is a movement that is promoting active involvement of individual victims, victimized communities, families, and offenders in the justice system in ways such that offenders are actively involved in repairing the emotional and physical harm they caused; victims receive far more support, assistance, and input; and positive relationships within communities are strengthened. While restorative justice consists of a wide range of policies and practices and is ultimately a very different way of understanding and responding to the real human impact of crime, the core of restorative justice is anchored in processes that allow for direct dialogue between those affected by crime and those who committed the offense. Examples of the more widely known restorative justice dialogue interventions include victim-offender mediation, family group conferencing, and peacemaking circles.

After a quarter of a century of VOM experience, more than 50 empirical studies in several countries have consistently found it to have a positive impact upon victim and offender satisfaction and perceptions of fairness, higher rates of restitution completion, and significantly lower rates of recidivism. Victim-offender mediation and dialogue programs currently work with many thousands of cases annually through several hundred programs throughout the United States and Canada and more than a thousand programs in other parts of the world, including throughout Europe, and in Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Japan, Russia, South Korea, South Africa, South America, and Ukraine. A recent national survey examining to what degree formal public policy in the United States supported victim-offender mediation found a considerable amount of legislative backing. A total of 29 states had legislation, in one form or another, that addressed victim-offender mediation. Of these, 14 states had specific legislation that spoke to various issues related to the use and development of victim-offender mediation and 15 states had a briefer reference to victim-offender mediation.

The American Bar Association (ABA) has addressed restorative justice through the practice of victim- offender mediation, its most widely used and empirically validated practice. The ABA has played a leadership role over many years in promoting the use of mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution in civil court-related conflicts, yet for most of that time remained skeptical and often critical of mediation in criminal court settings. That changed in 1994 when, after a yearlong study, the ABA fully endorsed the practice of victim-offender mediation and dialogue. The association recommended its use in courts throughout the country and provided guidelines for its use and development.

The United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the European Union have been addressing restorative justice issues for a number of years. In 2002, the United Nations adopted the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Restorative Justice Programs in Criminal Matters. These principles encourage the use of restorative justice programming by member states at all stages of the criminal justice process, underscore the voluntary nature of participation in restorative justice procedures, and recommend establishment of standards and safeguards for the practice of restorative justice. The Council of Europe focused more specifically on the restorative use of mediation procedures in criminal matters and adopted a set of recommendations in 1999 to guide member states in using mediation in criminal cases. In 2001, the European Union adopted a policy in support of "penal mediation," otherwise known as victim-offender mediation, asking its member states (nations) to promote mediation in criminal cases and integrate this practice into their laws.

Another clear expression of the growing U.S. support for restorative justice is the National Organization for Victim Assistance endorsement of "restorative community justice." During the early years of this movement, most victim advocacy groups were quite skeptical, and some still are; however, a growing number of victim support organizations are actively participating in the restorative justice movement.

References:

1) European Forum for Victim Offender Mediation and Restorative Justice. 2000. Victim Offender Mediation in Europe: Making Restorative Justice Work. Leuven, Belgium: Leuven University Press.

2) Morris, Allison and Gabrielle Maxwell, eds. 2001. Restorative Justice for Juveniles: Conferencing, Mediation & Circles. Portland, OR: Hart.

3) Umbreit, Mark S. 1994. Victim Meets Offender: The Impact of Restorative Justice and Mediation. Monsey, NY: Criminal Justice Press.

4) Umbreit, Mark S. 2001. The Handbook of Victim Offender Mediation: An Essential Guide to Practice and Research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

5) Umbreit, Mark S., Betty Vos, Robert B. Coates, and Katherine A. Brown. 2003. Facing Violence: The Path of Restorative Justice and Dialogue. Monsey, NY: Criminal Justice Press.

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