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Catherine Anne LaBrenz

Catherine Anne LaBrenz. Victim Offender Mediation in Sweden. What is Restorative Justice ?. Difficult to define…

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Catherine Anne LaBrenz

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  1. Catherine AnneLaBrenz VictimOffenderMediationin Sweden

  2. WhatisRestorativeJustice? • Difficultto define… • “Conflictsoutto be used, notonlyleft in erosion. And theyoughtto be used, and becomeuseful, forthoseoriginallyinvolved in theconflict” (Christie, 1977). • Accordingtotheprofessionalsinterviewed, a restorativeprocessinvolves open dialogue and anopportunityforthoseinvolved in a conflicttounderstandit and processit.

  3. Why RJ? ChileanContext

  4. Sweden: Anexample of equality? • Traditionally, veryequal and peacefulsociety. • BUT… • Protests in 2013. • Immigrationincrease • Growth in inequalitybetween 1985 and 2000s wasthehighestamongall OECD countries, increasingby 1/3 (OECD 2011).

  5. Youth in conflictwiththelawin Sweden • As of 2002, therewere 30 homesfor “specialsupervision” • Commonto be placed in social services • Examples of IFF, MTFC, family-orientedinterventions. • Mediationisofferedtoalloffendersbetween 12 and 21 whoconfessto a crime. • Legally, onlythoseover 15 can be tried in a court of law.

  6. Case study: VictimOffenderMediation • Victim-OffenderMediationprograms at 6 municipalitieswereanalyzed. • Semi-structured interviews wereconductedwith 8 professionalmediators at the 6 differentmunicipalities • Onefocusgroupwasconductedwithallmediators at a medium-sizedmunicipality • Additionally, interviews wererealizedwtih 4 experts in restorativejustice in Sweden.

  7. WhyVictim-OffenderMediation? • Pilotmediationprojectsstarting in the 1990s. • Influencefromothercountries and Christie • MediationAct of 2002 • Shift in responsibility in 2008: decentralization.

  8. VictimOffenderMediation in Sweden: WhattheStatisticsSay

  9. Doesitwork? • Severalstudieshavebeenconductedoutside of Sweden(Marklund, S., Umbreit et al) • Overall, recidivsmratesdecrease, especiallyfor more violent/seriouscrimes. • Lesseffectivewithshoplifting and propertycrimes • Satisfactionrateshigh in allstudiesconducted. • BUT…

  10. Challenges: • In total, therewere 1219 completedmediation cases in 2011. • Debates amongprofessionalsregardingthe role of the mediator and theprotocolformeetings. • Of thosethatofferservices, only 24% had more than 20 cases per year. • 49% of municipalitieshadbetween 0 and 5 cases • Whoisresponsible? • Needfor central authoritytoregulate and standardize

  11. Critiques? • Whiletheprofessionalsinterviewed at mediationserviceswere VERY satisfiedwiththeprocess, itisconsidered a “band-aid” to a largerproblem. • Are thevictim’sneedsreallymet? • Critique of studiesconductedregardingsatisfaction and recidivism.

  12. Pros and Cons Pro-Mediation Anti-Mediation Offender-focused Victim loses voice Externalfactorscouldexplain positive resultsfound in research Lack of central bodyoverseeingtheprocess • Studiesconductedhaveshown a decrease in recidivsmamongoffenderswhohavepartken in mediation. • Encouragesbothpartiestoregain control and retakeresponsibilityfortheiractions.

  13. FutureDirections: A ChileanRestorativeAuthority? • Whilethere are critiques of thecurrentsystem, overalltheempiricalevidence as well as theprofessionalsinterviewedconsidermediationto be positive. • As oneprofessionalputit, “itis a band-aidfix”. Itisn´t a cure forjuveniledelinquency, but has beenshownto reduce recidivismrates, especiallyforcrimesagainstpeople. • Philosophy of takingresponsibility, empoweringpeople.

  14. What do youthink? Comments? Questions? Resources http://www.oecd.org/sweden/49564868.pdf

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