Mark S. Umbreit

Rethinking the Sanctioning Function in Juvenile Court: Retributive or Restorative Responses to Youth Crime

Although juvenile courts have always administered punishment to youthful offenders, parens patriae and the individual treatment mission have historically assigned an ambivalent role to sanctioning. In the absence of a coherent sanctioning framework, a punitive model has recently gained dominance over dispositional decision making in juvenile court. This article examines the limitations of sanctioning choices presented by both the individual treatment mission and what some have referred to as a “retributive justice” paradigm. We then consider the implications of an alternative model—restorative justice—as a framework for a new approach to sanctioning consistent with a revitalized juvenile justice mandate.

Cross-Site Analysis of Victim-Offender Mediation in Four States

This article reports on the first cross-site analysis of victim-offender mediation programs in the United States, working with juvenile courts in Albuquerque, Austin, Minneapolis, and Oakland. A total of 1,153 interviews were conducted with victims and offenders. These included pre- and postmediation interviews and the use of two comparison groups. Court officials were interviewed and 28 observations of mediations were conducted. The vast majority of victims and offenders experienced the mediation process and outcome as fair and were quite satisfied with it. Mediation resulted in significantly greater satisfaction and perceptions of fairness for victims, as well as significantly higher restitution completion by offenders, than found in comparison groups. Some implications for juvenile justice policy are offered.

Homicide Survivors Meet the Offender Prior to Execution: Restorative Justice through Dialogue

This article presents two case studies that represent the first examination of any capital murder cases involving a victim offender mediation/dialogue session between a surviving family member and the death row inmate facing execution shortly after the mediation session. The 5 participants (3 surviving family members and 2 offenders) in these ground-breaking death row mediation/dialogue sessions stated that this intervention had a powerful impact on their lives; all had been moved beyond their expectations, all were relieved, all reported significant progress on their healing journeys, and all were grateful for the opportunity. Furthermore, all 5 persons pointed to the same set of components to account for their response. The authors suggest that practitioners and policy makers should give serious consideration to cautiously expanding opportunities for such restorative encounters that are initiated and requested by victims and surviving family members of severely violent crime.

Participation in Victim-Offender Mediation and the Prevalence of Subsequent Delinquent Behavior: A Meta-Analysis:

Objective: This article reports the results of a meta-analytic study of the relationship between participation in victim-offender mediation (VOM) and the prevalence of subsequent delinquent behavior. Method: Analyses were conducted with the results of 15 studies, conducted at 19 different sites, with a sample of 9,307 juveniles. Results: The results suggested that methodological factors explained all the significant variation across sites and studies in the magnitude of the difference between non-VOM and VOM groups in their reoffense prevalence. The odds of VOM participants were only about .70 as great as the odds of nonparticipants reoffending. Conclusion: The results support the efforts of social workers to advocate for, develop, and participate in VOM programs.

Making amends : mediation and reparation in criminal justice

1. Introduction 2. Developments in England and Wales 3. Victim offender mediation: a review of the research in the United States 4. Victim offender mediation in the Federal Republic of Germany 6. The Exeter youth support team 7. The Totton reparation scheme 8. Dominant themes: diversion and mitigation 9. Neglected themes (one): negotiation and expiation 10. Neglected themes (2): the victim interest 11. Conclusion

Restorative justice dialogue: A multi-dimensional evidence-based practice theory

Restorative justice in the 21st century is a social movement that has moved far beyond its humble and rather marginal beginnings in North America and Europe more than a quarter of a century ago. Today restorative justice policies and practices are developing throughout the world in diverse cultural and national settings, with recent endorsements by the European Union and the United Nations. While still not the mainstream in any nation, restorative justice has clearly moved beyond the margins of social change in many locations and is beginning to enter the mainstream of criminal justice policy. The oldest, most widely used, and empirically grounded expression of this movement is restorative justice dialogue through victim–offender mediation, group conferencing, and peacemaking circles. These and related practices in which victims, offenders, support people, and other community participants have opportunities to enter into dialogue with each other to foster healing and the repair of harm represent the movement’s foundation, upon which many other restorative practices and policies are developing. This article describes the underlying characteristics of authentic restorative justice dialogue, including specific indicators of its presence. The article provides assistance to practitioners and policymakers who seek to address issues of program development, evaluation, and measurement.

Victims of severe violence meet the offender: restorative justice through dialogue

Both restorative justice in general and victim offender mediation specifically continue to be identified with primarily, if not exclusively, addressing non-violent property crimes, and perhaps even minor assaults. This article will challenge such assumptions by providing empirical evidence that suggests that many of the principles of restorative justice can be applied in crimes of severe violence, including murder. Some would even suggest that the deepest healing impact of restorative justice is to be found in addressing and responding to such violent crime. An increasing number of victims of sexual assault, attempted homicide, and survivors of murder victims, in Canada and the United States, are requesting the opportunity to meet the offender to express the full impact of the crime upon their life, to get answers to many questions they have and to gain a greater sense of closure so that they can move on with their lives. In most cases this occurs many years after the crime occurred and the actual mediation/dialogue session is typically held in a secure institution where the offender is located. This article addresses four topics. First, the case development process of victim sensitive offender dialogue (VSOD) in crimes of severe violence is described, with an emphasis of how the process is far more intensive in such cases. Second, the specific type of victim sensitive mediation employed in such cases is briefly presented. Humanistic mediation is ‘dialogue driven’ rather than ‘settlement driven’ and is essential to the application of restorative justice principles in cases of severe violence. Third, a review of the few current studies of such an intervention is offered, including preliminary data that is emerging from a two state multi-year study by the author. Fourth, two specific case studies related to the above research are presented with an emphasis upon implications for practitioners. Finally, several conclusions are offered, including a number of unanswered questions and the need for further research.

Participation in Victim-Offender Mediation and Reoffense: Successful Replications?

Objective: A study was conducted to determine the extent to which four investigations of the effect of participation in victim-offender mediation (VOM) on reoffense were successful replications. Method: The data from these four studies were combined and statistical analyses performed to determine if differences between studies were attributable to sampling variability. If the differences between studies were statistically nonsignificant, the results would be consistent with the four studies being successful replications of each other. Results: The results were consistent with the four studies representing a successful replication series. Analyses of the combined samples of 1,298 juveniles indicated that VOM participants reoffended at a rate 32% lower than nonparticipants. Conclusion: The difference in reoffense rates was more than three times larger than the average effect associated with interventions for delinquency found in a recent meta-analysis. These results suggested that VOM participation was associated with significant reductions in delinquent behavior.

Crime Victims Confront Their Offenders: The Impact of a Minneapolis Mediation Program:

Social workers are playing an increasingly active role in the emerging field of mediation. This article presents the findings of an evaluation of a victim offender mediation program. The study is based on a quasi-experimental design involving 516 interviews with 441 crime victims and juvenile offenders, including pre- and postmediation interviews and involving two comparison groups. The vast majority of victims and offenders experienced the mediation process and outcome (restitution agreement) as fair and were satisfied with the program. Significantly greater victim satisfaction and perception of fairness, as well as higher restitution completion rates by offenders, were found

Restorative justice circles: An exploratory study

Peacemaking circles have received a great deal of attention within the international restorative justice movement. The use of peacemaking circles for structuring communication and decision-making in many diverse cultures is probably as ancient as humankind. Peacemaking circles are particularly integrated and used among the many indigenous tribes of North America. This article reports on the development and use of peacemaking circles in South Saint Paul, Minnesota, representing the first exploratory study of circles in the US. The South Saint Paul initiative represents one of the oldest efforts in the US to adapt circles as a restorative justice approach within the community and schools. Peacemaking circles were found to be an effective approach to involve community members in the process of holding local offenders accountable for repairing the harm they caused, to assist crime victims, and to foster a greater sense of connectedness among all those affected by crime within the community.