Victim-Offender Mediation Program (VOMP)

The Mercer County Coalition for Restorative Justice (MCCRJ) has been founded to promote restorative justice in Mercer County, NJ and eventually, in other counties throughout the state. One fundamental aspect of restorative justice is victim-offender mediation programs (VOMP). The following is a description of these programs and how MCCRJ plans to implement them in NJ.

VOMP, also known as Victim-Offender Reconciliation Programs (VORP), is a restorative justice approach that brings offenders face-to-face with the victims of their crimes with the assistance of a trained mediator, usually a community volunteer. Crime is personalized as offenders learn the human consequences of their actions and victims (who may be ignored by the criminal justice system) have the opportunity to speak their minds and their feelings to the one who should hear them and thus contributing to the healing process of the victim.

Offenders take meaningful responsibility for their actions by mediating a restitution agreement with the victim to restore the victims' losses in whatever ways that may be possible. Restitution may be monetary or symbolic; it may consist of work for the victim, community service or anything else that creates a sense of justice between the victim and the offender.

Throughout the country Victim-Offender Mediation Programs have been mediating meaningful justice between crime victims and offenders for over twenty years; there are now thousands of such programs worldwide. Remarkably consistent statistics from a cross-section of the North American programs show that about two-thirds of the cases referred resulted in a face-to-face mediation meeting. Over ninety-five percent of the cases mediated resulted in a written restitution agreement and over ninety percent of those restitution agreements are completed within one year. On the other hand, the actual rate of payment of court-ordered restitution (nationally) is typically only from twenty to thirty percent.

One reason why is there such a huge difference in restitution compliance is because of a personal encounter. Offenders seldom experience court-ordered restitution as a moral obligation. It seems like just one more fine being levied against them by an impersonal court system. When the restitution obligation is reached voluntarily and face-to-face, offenders experience it in a very different way. Perhaps most importantly, after facing the victims of their crimes, offenders commit fewer and less serious offenses than similar offenders who are processed by the traditional juvenile or criminal justice system.

The concept of Victim–Offender Mediation (VOMP) then is fairly simple. A face–to–face meeting occurs between a victim and offender mediated by a trained community volunteer. The offender meets with the person he/she has wronged to discuss the effects of what happened and what can be done to restore and make amends to the victim and community. The mediator serves as a neutral third party who has no stake in the conflict and no power over either participant. A mediator also represents the community—not the criminal justice system.

In the current justice system, resources are targeted toward the offender with the victim often underrepresented or at best passively participating in the system. The outcome of this process is to determine the most appropriate retributive response. Retributive justice focuses on public vengeance, deterrence, and punishment through an adversarial court process and by its very nature, insulates the offender from the human consequences of his/her acts. That retributive system often promotes competition between advocates of rehabilitation and punishment with citizens involved in the “system” experiencing increased frustration.

MCCRJ will receive referrals directly from the community, as well as those from municipal and other governmental agencies. Following receipt of a referral, the Mediation Case Supervisor (MCS) determines whether or not the offender is “admitting” or taking responsibility for his or her actions. If so, the MCS contacts the victim to determine if there is a willingness to mediate. If the victim agrees and based on their scheduling needs, a mediation date and time is established. If the victim is unwilling to mediate, the case is typically facilitated through an intake process and formal accountability agreement.

Mediation often provides the following benefits:

• Victims have the opportunity to ask questions about the offense and why it happened.
• Answers to these questions can help dispel fear and promote healing.
• Victims have the opportunity to express their feelings about the impact of the crime.
• Victims have the opportunity to work out a written agreement to address their losses.
• Mediation has been shown to provide more durable agreements than other programs.
• Victims often experience a feeling of empowerment through participation in the mediation process.
• Offenders experience the full human impact of their actions when meeting with their victim; this process promotes development of pro-social behavior and reduces likelihood of recidivism.
• Offenders are held directly accountable to individuals they have harmed through a face-to-face meeting which addresses victim’s needs and rights.
• Offenders have a voice in deciding how they can repair the harm they have done to the victim and community. This increases the likelihood of successful completion of the contract.
• Offenders are afforded an opportunity to develop empathy for the human consequences of crime.
• Offenders perform restorative community work service which promotes a bond with the community.

MCCRJ’s VOMP will handle juvenile cases which are primarily property crimes and minor community disagreements.

 

 

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