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Victim Offender Mediation

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4 – Question #11: (Ch 9) Juveniles may be represented by several different types of individuals in court, this includes: court-appointed and private lawyers, public defenders, special advocates, and guardian ad litem – who represents the juvenile often depends on the case its self. To begin, a court appointed lawyer may either be an attorney or a public defender – both of which represent defendants who do not have the financial income or money to obtain a private lawyer. An attorney is typically drawn from a roster of practicing attorneys in the jurisdiction of the case. On the other hand, a public defender is a full-time salaried employee. Public defenders also typically receive low pay, poor funding, and carry an enormous load of cases each …show more content…

First, offenders are to take responsibility and accountability for their actions and responds to the damage they’ve caused the victim(s). The offender must then act to ‘repair the damage’ this may include letters of apology, restitution, or community service. Next, victim-offender mediation programs involve the competency of the offender. This means the offender’s ability to function as a dynamic and fully capable citizen – this is related to inducing empathy in offenders, teaching them both communication and conflict resolution skills. Lastly, public safety includes having new relationships between the community, offender, and the victim. In order to measure whether or not the victim-offender mediation programs are effective in reforming delinquents, we would measure the reoffending or recidivism rates. Unfortunately, numerous reports of recidivism have been mixed – therefore, it is difficult to accurately argue whether it is effective or not. I would personally guess that it is not very successful at reforming delinquents. I would argue this because I don’t believe they’re really learning their lesson by writing a few letters or attending classes. In that sense, I don’t believe they are effective in delivering justice. I think they try to provide justice by mending what the offender broke or repairing the pain of the victim but ultimately, it’s not quite enough to say they are effectively delivering justice. I would argue that they need slightly harsher perspectives in order to accurately prevent or stop crime and provide

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