NCJ Number
145072
Journal
Crime and Delinquency Volume: 39 Issue: 4 Dated: (October 1993) Pages: 565- 585
Date Published
1993
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This article provides a look at the mediation of victim assistance and offender accountability.
Abstract
Researchers conducted 1,153 interviews among crime victims and juvenile offenders who participated in mediation in Albuquerque (NM), Austin (TX), Minneapolis (MN), or Oakland (CA). Victims were most likely to indicate that recovering their loss and helping the offender were equally important. Their next most common expectation was the opportunity to tell the offender of the effect of the crime. Offenders most commonly cited the opportunity to apologize, six in ten said they cared what the victim thought of them. A vast majority of both victims and offenders reported that the mediation process and outcome were fair. Followup data showed that the offenders recidivated less (18 percent) than did similar offenders who had been administered a nonmediation restitution program (27 percent). Moreover, their new crimes tended to be less serious than those which caused their referral to the mediation program. Also, they were much more likely to complete the restitution to their victims (81 percent) than were the other offenders (58 percent). 7 tables and 21 references