M-A-D Prison Ministry
Victim Offender Mediation Training Manual
http://www.cehd.umn.edu/ssw/RJP/Projects/Victim-Offender-Dialogue/Training_Resources/VOM_Training_Manual_06.pdf
What Is It?
Victim offender mediation is a process which provides interested victims of primarily property crimes and minor assaults the opportunity to meet the offender in a safe and structured setting, with the goal of holding the offenders directly accountable while providing important assistance and/or compensation to victims. With the assistance of a trained mediator, the victim is able to let the offender know how the crime affected him or her, to receive answers to questions, and to be directly involved in developing a restitution plan for the offender to be accountable for the losses they caused. The offenders are able to take direct responsibility for their behavior, to learn of the full impact of what they did, and to develop a plan for making amends to the person(s) they violated. Some victim offender mediation programs are called “victim offender meetings,” “victim offender reconciliation,” or “victim offender conferences.” Victim offender mediation is one of the clearest expressions of restorative justice, a movement that is receiving a great deal of attention throughout North America and Europe. Our current juvenile and criminal justice systems are entirely offender driven, with a “trail em, nail em, and jail em” focus that views crime as an offense against the state and offers little help to crime victims. Restorative justice, however, provides a very different framework for understanding and responding to crime and victimization. Moving beyond the offender driven focus, restorative justice identifies three clients: individual victims, victimized communities and offenders. Crime is understood primarily as an offense against people within communities, as opposed to the more abstract definition of crime as a violation against the state. Those most directly affected by crime are allowed to play an active role in restoring peace between individuals and within communities. Restoration of the emotional and material losses resulting from crime is far more important than imposing ever increasing levels of costly punishment on the offender. The debt owed by offenders is very concrete. Rather than passively “taking your punishment,” offenders are encouraged to actively restore losses to victims and communities. The use of dialogue and negotiation among victims, victimized communities, and offenders is emphasized. In truth, the essence of what now is being called restorative justice is deeply rooted in the traditional practices of many indigenous people throughout the world, such as Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, Maori in New Zealand, and First Nation people in Canada.
Crisis intervention is more than a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold, or an ear with which to listen. It encompasses all of those attributes in a crisis intervenor and more. It involves skill and knowledge, combined in a simple but powerful way. Providing victims with a sense of safety and security; allowing them a chance for ventilation and validation; and giving them accurate prediction and preparation for the future summarizes that combination. The strength of the crisis intervention process can be seen in the tributes that thousands of victims have given their advocates who were at their sides in their times of need. It can be seen in the fact that most of those victims do not need long-term counseling or mental health therapy. Charles Dickens said, "No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of others." It is hoped that this chapter will help crisis intervenors lighten the burdens of the others who are victims of crime.