The handbook of victim offender mediation: An essential guide to practice and research.

Source: (2001) Sponsored by the Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking, University of Minnesota, School of Social Work. With a foreword by Marlene A. Young. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc.

Mark Umbreit is the founding director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking, and the author of this book, in collaboration with several colleagues mentioned in the book. This book covers the philosophical basis for a restorative approach to victim-offender mediation, and it provides concrete guidelines for program application. The book contains three major parts. Part One deals with philosophy, practice, and context for victim-offender mediation. Chapter subjects include the following: humanistic mediation; guidelines for victim-sensitive mediation and dialogue with offenders; phases and tasks in the mediation process; cases studies of mediation; a survey of victim-offender mediation programs in the United States; and program development issues. Part Two deals with research findings. Chapter subjects include the following: the impact of victim-offender mediation; and victim-offender mediation in the United States, Canada, and England. Part Three deals with emerging issues for victim-offender mediation. Chapter subjects include mediation and dialogue in crimes of severe violence, and potential hazards and opportunities for victim-offender mediation. Appendices provide further information on these matters: victim-offender mediation resources, such as organizations, publications, and videotapes; a directory of victim-offender mediation programs in the United States; program profiles; promising practices and innovations; a summary of a number of victim-offender mediation empirical studies; and information on assessing participant satisfaction with victim-offender mediation.