Victim Meets Offender: A Comparative Study on Juveniles and Adults in a Midwestern County

Abstract

Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP) is a special mode of conflict resolution between victims and offenders. It has appeals to both parties. Face-to-face encounter is the essence of the VORP process. Mediation and reconci-liation make offenders accountable and responsible for their criminal acts and also committed to recompense their victims' damages. In turn, the process is expected to reduce reoffending among the participating offenders. This study compares the impact of a VORP for juveniles and adults in Elkhart County, Indiana. This post-adjudication restitution program is operated by the Center for Community Justice - a private agency. Data were collected on the participating offenders from July, 1989 to June, 1990 (fiscal year of the Center); then, they were followed through the end of June, 1992 (2 year follow-up) for recidivism reports. In this study, the 'impact' of the VORP was measured in terms of offender compliance with restitution contracts and offender recidivism.

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