Restorative Justice is considered a new way of thinking about crime and criminal justice, emphasizing the ways in which crime hurts relationships who live in a community. Crime is seen as something done against a victim and the community – not simply as lawbreaking and violation against the State. Restorative justice is a systematic response to wrongdoing that emphasizes healing the wounds of victims, as well as offenders and communities involved with the criminal behavior. Restorative justice involves the community in a variety of preventative and responsive programs to bridge gaps between people, build their sense of safety and strengthen community bonds.

One of the many programs that are typically identified with restorative justice is Victim/Offender mediation. Victim offender mediation is a process which provides interested victims of primarily property crimes 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 mediator, the victim is able to let the offender know how the

The first Victim/Offender Mediation began as an experiment in Kitchener, Ontario in the early 1970’s when a youth probation officer convinced a judge that two youths convicted of vandalism should meet the victims of their crimes. Following several other Canadian initiatives, the first United States program was launched in Elkhart, Indiana in 1978. From there it has spread throughout United States and Europe. There are more than 300 victim offender mediation programs in North America, and over 500 in Europe. Research on such programs has found higher satisfaction among victims and offenders who participated in mediation, lower fear among victims, a greater likelihood that the offender will complete a restitution obligation, and fewer offenders committing new offences, than among those who went through the normal court process. In 1997 The American Bar Association endorsed victim offender mediation and recommends its development in all courts throughout the country.

In making this restorative approach, it is the victims decision to agree to the participation in the mediation. It is important to understand that if a victim offender mediation is not accepted, the contact with the victim is not considered a failure or a waste of effort. All of the points noted above (community concern, offender accountability, addressing the harm done) have been accomplished, and each of these points has important restorative value! The ultimate goal is to serve the victim of the crime well. The goal is not t

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