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The Victim–Offender Mediation Program (VOMP) in Albuquerque, N.M., was initiated in early 1988 as a component of the New Mexico Center for Dispute Resolution. It was cosponsored by the local juvenile probation department of the State Youth Authority. The program was designed to provide victims the opportunity to meet their offenders in a safe and structured setting for dialogue, negotiation, and problem solving. In addition to victim mediation services, the Center for Dispute Resolution operated a parent–child mediation program, a school mediation program, and a mediation program for youth in correctional facilities. In 1990 and 1991 the program had a caseload of approximately 591. It served a jurisdiction with a population of about 250,000, including large Hispanic and Native American communities.
The Albuquerque VOMP participated in the first large cross-site evaluation of victim–offender mediation services. The other programs studied were located in Austin, Texas; Minneapolis, Minn.; and Oakland, Calif. The study used a nonequivalent control group design with pretest and posttest. The comparison group at each site consisted of similar offenders from the same jurisdiction matched by age, sex, race, offense, and restitution amount who did not receive mediation. The data was collected through interviews with 1,153 crime victims and juvenile offenders, reviews of program records and court records, interviews with court officials and program staff, and observation of 28 mediation sessions. Pre- and post-interviews were used to assess the impact of the program. Pre-interviews occurred only with the mediation sample and were conducted over the phone within a week of the mediation. Post-interviews were held 2 months after the completion of the mediation session. Comparison group interviews occurred over the phone about 2 months after the case disposition date. Among the outcome measures used to examine this program were client satisfaction, client perceptions of fairness, restitution rates, completion rates, and recidivism.
The evaluation findings demonstrate that victim–offender mediation at each site resulted in juvenile offenders committing considerably fewer additional crimes during the 1-year follow-up period than similar offenders in the court-administered restitution program. They also tended to commit crimes that were less serious than the offense of referral. It should be noted, however, that this finding is not statistically significant. Thus the possibility that this effect can occur by chance cannot be ruled out. The evaluation also found high levels of client satisfaction (90 percent of victims and 91 percent of offenders) and perceptions of fairness (83 percent of victims and 89 percent of offenders). Moreover, victims who participated in the mediation process were significantly more likely to view the system as fair than similar victims who did not participate in mediation. The mediation process also had a strong impact on the likelihood of offenders successfully completing their restitution obligation to their victims. Recently, a new nonprofit organization, Outcomes, assumed responsibility for providing Albuquerque’s Victim–Offender Mediation Services; however, this organization continues to follow the same model of victim–offender mediation that was evaluated in the Umbreit study.
Umbreit, Mark S., and Robert B. Coates. 1992. Victim–Offender Mediation: An Analysis of Programs in Four States of the U.S. Minneapolis, Minn.: Minnesota Citizens Council on Crime and Justice.
———. 1993. “Cross-Site Analysis of Victim–Offender Mediation in Four States.” Crime and Delinquency 39(4):565–85.
Jeanette Martinez
Victim–Offender Mediation Program
1503 University Blvd. NE
Albuquerque, NM 87102
Phone: (505) 243-2551
Fax: (505) 243-0446
E-mail: jmartinez@outcomesnm.org
Web site: http://www.outcomesnm.org
Jeanette Martinez
Outcomes, Inc.
1503 University Blvd. NE
Albuquerque, NM 87102
Phone: (505) 243-2551
E-mail: jmartinez@outcomesnm.org
Web site: http://www.outcomesnm.org
