Victim-offender mediation schemes have experienced significant growth in the last decade. They are seen as an important and innovative alternative to the traditional sanctions of the criminal justice system. After a critical look at mediation schemes in the United States and Canada, most European countries have also increased their efforts to develop informal strategies to deal with deviant behavior. In terms of their legal and organizational base, it turns out that type, extent, and capacities for development are quite different in the individual countries -resulting in a remarkable diversity of programs with different outcomes. The contributions in this book are revised and edited versions of papers presented at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop Conflict, Crime and Reconciliation: The Organization of Welfare Intervention in the Field of Restitutive Justice in April 1991 at Il Ciocco, Italy. The chapters document the present stage of restorative justice in the individual countries, critically assess legal constraints and public needs, discuss the organizational requirements of implementation, and also evaluate outcomes in a broader context of crime and social policy. In the long run, this book should encourage further debates in the field of restorative justice and help build valid guidelines for an international evaluation research.

Inhalt

1. Restorative Justice: Steps on the Way Toward a Good Idea.- I: Restorative Justice in Western Nations.- 2. Restorative Justice on Trial in Britain.- 3. Implementation and Acceptance of Victim-Offender Mediation Programs in the Federal Republic of Germany: A Survey of Criminal Justice Institutions.- 4. The New Zealand Experience Implementing the Reparation Sentence.- 5. Can Restitution Serve as a Reasonable Alternative to Imprisonment? An Assessment of the Situation in the USA.- 6. Victim-Offender Mediation: Japanese and American Comparisons.- 7. The Norwegian Community Mediation Centers at a Crossroads.- 8. The Process of Mediation in Finland: A Special Reference to the Question How to Get Cases for Mediation?.- 9. Same Programmes, Different Outcomes: The Use of English Alternative Practices for Juveniles in the Netherlands.- 10. The Austrian Juvenile Justice Act 1988. A New Practice and New Problems.- 11. Penal and Community Mediation: The Case of France.- 12. Reparation, Mediation and Scottish Criminal Justice.- 13. Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program and Outcomes.- 14. Mediation and Reconciliation Models in Italian Legal Experience.- 15. A Review of Research Dealing With Views on Financial Restitution.- II: Legal Constraints and Public Needs.- 16. Diversion and Juvenile Justice: Can We Ever Get It Right?.- 17. A Survey on Public Acceptance of Restitution as an Alternative to Incarceration for Property Offenders in Hennepin County, Minnesota, U.S.A..- 18. Victim Offender Reconciliation Schemes in the Greek Justice System.- 19. Morality, Symbolism, and Criminal Law: Chances and Limits of Mediation Programs.- 20. Reflections on the Role of the Media in the English Criminal Justice System.- 21. Mediation Involving Children in the U.S.: Legal and EthicalConflicts. A Policy Discussion and Research Questions.- 22. Mediation and Community Service as Models of a Restorative Approach: Why Would it be Better? Explicating the Objectives as Criteria for Evaluation.- 23. The New Juvenile Penal Procedure Code and the Reparation-Reconciliation Process in Italy: A Chance for a Possible Change.- III: Applying Restorative Justice to Offenders.- 24. Applying Restitutive Justice to Young Offenders: Observations From the United Kingdom.- 25. Minors and Deviance: The Role of Social Services and the Local Community.- 26. The Role of Probation in Restitution Procedures.- 27. Adult Probation in America: Its Role in Restorative Justice.- 28. Juvenile Delinquency in Turkey.- IV: The Mediation Process.- 29. Mediation A Romantic Ideal or a Workable Alternative.- 30. Mediating Victim-Offender Conflict: From Single-Site to Multi-Site Analysis in the U.S..- 31. Reparation in the UK: Dominant Themes and Neglected Themes.- 32. Communication in Decision-Making About Diversion and Victim-Offender Mediation.- 33. Mediation in Divorce: Does the Process Match the Rhetoric?.- 34. Organizational Demands on Mediation Programs: Problems of Realization.- 35. Approaching Mediation in Juvenile Court: Rationale and Methodological Aspects.- 36. WAAGE Hannover E.V. A Reconciliation and Restitution Program for Adult Offenders and Victims: The Concept for Practice and Research.- V: Toward a Restoration of Justice.- 37. Victim-Offender Mediation as a Step Towards a Restorative System of Justice.- 38. The Function of Forgiveness in the Criminal Justice System.- 39. Restitution, Reconciliation, Retribution: Identifying the Forms of Justice People Desire.- 40. Mediation Interventions and Restorative Justice: Responding to the Astructural Bias.- 41.Restitution and Ethics: An Aristotelian Approach.- Authors.