MEDIATION IN SOUTH YORKSHIRE

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of research on the experience of victims and offenders who were contacted by probation officers working on a victim-offender mediation project in South Yorkshire. This was the pioneering attempt in Britain to explore the possibilities of mediation in a “court-based” context, and its work is situated within an analysis of the different forms of mediation and reparation at present being attempted at various points in the criminal justice process. The paper suggests that there is a substantial proportion of both victims and offenders who are interested in accepting an offer of mediation, and that the end they have in mind is more likely to be reconciliation than reparation. The reasons victims and offenders may have for not wishing to meet are also explored. It is suggested that the success of mediation efforts depends heavily on the skill and sensitivity of the mediator, and that this and other factors may limit the feasibility of generalising the practice of mediation beyond a special project. It is argued that the South Yorkshire experience is nevertheless important in increasing understanding of how the widely canvassed ideas of mediation and reparation may work out in practice.

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