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Victim-Offender
Conferencing
Overview
What is it?
When Are Cases Referred?
How is it different from other conferencing?
Are crime victims interested?
What have we learned from research?
Is Victim-Offender Conferencing part of the criminal
justice system?
Standards of
Practice
Testimonials
Accountability
Overview
Victim - Offender Conferencing is a process
that provides interested victims an opportunity to meet
their offender(s) in a safe and structured setting, with the
goal of holding the offender directly responsible for their
behavior, while providing important assistance and support
to the victim. Offenders referred to our program begin
participation in a Victim - Offender Conference. Only
offenders willing to accept responsibility for the harm they
caused are brought into the program to be held accountable
to those they have harmed. Victim - Offender
Conferences are dialogue driven and bring together victims,
offenders, families, supporters and other community
stakeholders impacted by the crime. With the support
of trained volunteer facilitators, participants are guided
to work toward a mutual agreement that repairs the harm and
promotes healing between all participants.
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What is it?
Victim - Offender Conferencing is a process
which provides interested victims of crime the opportunity
to meet the offender in a safe and structured setting, with
the goal of holding the offender directly accountable for
their behavior while providing important assistance and
compensation to the victim. With the assistance of a
trained volunteer facilitator, the victim is able to let the
offender know how the crime affected him or her, to receive
answers to the questions they may have, and to be directly
involved in developing a restitution plan for the offender
to be accountable for the losses they incurred. The
offender is able to take direct responsibility for their
behavior, to learn the full impact of what they did, and to
develop a plan for making amends to the person(s) they
violated.
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When Are Cases Referred?
In some programs, cases are primarily
referred to Victim - Offender Conferencing as a diversion
from prosecution, assuming the agreement is successfully
completed. In other programs, cases are referred
primarily after a formal admission of guilt has been
accepted by the court, with the facilitation being a
condition of probation, if the victim is interested.
Some programs receive case referrals at both the diversion
and post-adjudication level. Most cases are referred
by official involved in the juvenile justice system,
although some programs also receive referrals from the adult
criminal justice system. Judges, probation officers,
victim advocates, prosecutors, defense attorneys, police,
schools or victims can make referrals to Victim - Offender
Conferencing programs.
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How is it different from
other conferencing?
In Victim - Offender Conferencing, the
involved parties are not "disputants." One
has clearly committed a criminal offense and has admitted
doing so. The other has clearly been victimized.
Therefore, the issue of guilt or innocence is not a
consideration. Nor is there an expectation that crime
victims compromise and request less than what they need to
address their losses. While many other types of
conferencing are largely "settlement driven," Victim -
Offender Conferencing is primarily "dialogue driven," with
the emphasis upon victim healing, offender accountability
and restoration of losses. Most Victim - Offender
Conferences, frequently over 95%, do in fact result in a
signed restitution agreement. This agreement, however,
is secondary to the importance of the initial dialogue
between the parties that address emotional and information
needs of victims that are central to their healing and to
the development of victim empathy in the offender which can
lead to less criminal behavior in the future. Research
has consistently found the restitution agreement is less
important to crime victims than the opportunity to talk
directly with the offender about how they felt about the
crime.
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Are crime victims
interested?
Yes, Victim - Offender
Conferencing is not appropriate for all crimes. In all
cases, it must be presented as a voluntary choice to the
victim. With more than 20 years of facilitating many
thousands of cases throughout North America, experience has
shown that the majority of victims presented with the option
of conferencing choose to enter into the process. A
recent statewide public opinion poll in Minnesota found that
82% of a random sample of citizens from throughout the state
would consider participating in a Victim - Offender
Conferencing program if they were the victim of a property
crime. Interviews with 280 victims who participated in
conferencing programs in four states, found that 91% felt
their participation was totally voluntary.
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What have we learned from
research?
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Victims of crime who meet with their
offender are far more likely to be satisfied with the
justice system response than are similar victims who go
through the normal court process without Victim - Offender
Conference opportunities.
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After meeting the offender, victims are
significantly less fearful of being re-victimized.
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Offenders who meet their victim(s) are
far more likely to successfully complete their restitution
obligations and to be directly accountable to the victim
for their behavior.
-
Considerable fewer and less serious
crimes are committed by offenders who meet their
victim(s).
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Is Victim-Offender
Conferencing part of the
criminal justice system?
Although many referrals
come from courts, police, probation and parole, schools and
human services, Victim - Offender Conferencing is a program
of the community, based on a nonprofit organization called
Restorative Justice of Dodge County, Inc. The
organization is made up of trained community volunteers who
are interested in helping to resolve the problems of crime
which affect victims (fear and anger), offenders
(accountability and alienation) and the community as a whole
(emotional and financial costs).
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Standards of Practice
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Within
one week of receiving a referral, the Director (Case
Manager assigned) will: contact the referral source to
confirm all information received; create a file; send out
appropriate forms; and assign the case to facilitators.
Facilitators will receive packets in a timely fashion.
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Two
facilitators are assigned to each case; the facilitators
decide between themselves who will make the initial
contacts, etc; however, pre-conference meetings and
conferencing will be done together. Each facilitator will
log time spent on the case.
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A
facilitator will contact the referral source to introduce
his/herself and let them know the case is proceeding.
This is done upon receiving the case.
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A
facilitator will contact the victim and offender within
one week of sending the introductory letters to set up a
pre-conference meeting if the victim/offender is willing.
These can be done simultaneously.
-
If no
other pre-conference meetings are necessary and the victim
and offender are willing and appropriate for a conference,
the facilitator will finalize arrangements within one week
including scheduling a meeting space, advising the
Director of the conference arrangements, any special needs
of the parties, and communicating the information to the
parties. The conference should take place within two
weeks of the final pre-conference with the offender.
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The
facilitators will write out any agreements that are
reached by the parties and ask for signatures. If there
are copying facilities available, all parties should
receive a copy of the agreement. If not, then the
agreement is included in the case file and the Director
(case manager) will copy and send out agreements to all
parties, as directed by the facilitator.
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The
victim, offender, and facilitators are asked to complete a
questionnaire following the conference (this is
voluntary). If no conference is held, on the facilitators
fill out a questionnaire.
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A
facilitator sends/delivers to the office: case file(s),
parties’ agreement(s), questionnaires, completed log
sheets, etc. The entire contents of the case file
including the case file itself are returned to the office.
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The
Director (case manager) sends a closure letter to the
referral source, and copies of all agreements to all
parties, within two weeks of closing the case.
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Testimonials
One victim wrote, "If it
had not been for this program, I would still be holding onto
my anger. Our town is a small place and we will run
into these youngsters again, and I don't want to harbor bad
feelings toward anyone. This program works. It's
necessary to have each side face-to-face and to be able to
air feelings in a safe environment."
Parent questionnaire,
dated April 27, 2005, "I wish I would have know more about
this program and would be very interested in finding out
more about this program in the future."
Words from another
victim, "Keep up the good work. I am very thankful for
the two good citizens in Mayville who freely give many hours
to this program and all the other support that comes from
the county."
One of our facilitators
shared their thoughts: Having listened to a father declare,
"You know I love you son.", in the midst of my first
Victim-Offender Conference, I am unreservedly sold on the
Restorative Justice process. There is little doubt in
my mind that those words probably had not been spoken in
such a public manner before.
Fourteen year old
offender, taken from a questionnaire dated April 27th,
"Thanks for giving me a second chance."
The young man who came
here this evening and met with us was very courageous.
It was good for us to hear that he is sorry for what he did
and that he is changing the people he is friends with.
As victims, my wife and I were glad we had a chance to meet
and talk face-to-face with this person.
Fifteen year old
offender, "I think that this program is very helpful.
The impacts of knowing how other people feel is a good
experience of knowing how wrong it was."
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Accountability
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Portions of the information on
this page are adapted from
Fact Sheet: Victim-Offender Mediation, by Dr. Mark S.
Umbreit. |
