Restorative Dialogue (RD) is a free and voluntary meeting between a victim of a crime and an offender, facilitated by a trained mediator.

The meeting gives victims of certain property crimes or minor assaults a chance to talk with the individuals who committed these crimes in a safe environment.

Victims can tell offenders how they were affected by the crime, receive answers to questions about the crime, and be directly involved in developing a workable plan to repair the harm.  Offenders, who have admitted responsibility for the offense, are held directly accountable for their actions, begin to understand the impact of what they did, and help develop a plan to repair the harm suffered by the victim.

Process

A case is referred to the RD Program, usually by an adult/juvenile justice or victim services agency.

A trained mediator meets individually with the victim and the offender, discusses the harm to the victim, and explores resolution for the victim and the offender.

The victim and the offender voluntarily agree to a meeting, facilitated by the mediator.  They tell their stories to each other, ask each other questions, share their feelings, and discuss options for repairing harm.

When they have mutually reached a resolution, an agreement is written and signed.

A follow-up meeting between the victim and the offender may be held after the terms of the agreement have been met.

Benefits

RD has received considerable research attention, more than many other justice alternatives. With over twenty years of experience and research, in both North America and Europe, there is a solid basis for the following conclusions about the beneficial results of RD:

Victims...

• Are directly involved in the justice process
• Tell the offender about the impact of the crime on their lives
• Ask the offender questions
• Hold offenders accountable
• Repair harm
• Receive an apology
• Move toward closure

Offenders...

• Help repair damage they caused
• Accept responsibility for their behavior
• Facilitate successful reintegration into the community
• Learn new skills of nonviolent conflict resolution
• Repair relationships with the community and persons
• Earn respect
• Possibly avoid trial and a criminal or delinquent record

The Community...

• Learns to resolve conflicts peacefully
• Builds a safer and more caring environment
• Reduces fear and increases safety
• Enhances social wellbeing from the community service of volunteer RD mediators and offenders
• Restores responsibility to the community to resolve its own conflicts

The Justice System...

• Increases public satisfaction with system actions
• Increases success of restitution
• Reduces costs by diverting cases from trial
• Reduces court cases backlog
• Reduces recidivism and seriousness of future offenses