Caryn Saxon is an Instructor with Missouri State University’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. She is also the Administrative Director of the Conflict and Communication Center of the Ozarks.
Consistency and Proportionality in Victim-Offender Mediation Agreements
As restorative victim offender mediation programs gain ground within the criminal justice system, more community organizations committed to restorative justice are collaborating with traditional justice agencies and offices. While these collaborations are mutually beneficial and socially transformative, inevitable tensions emerge when restorative and traditional models of justice engage one another. In this paper, we consider one example of this - the question of consistency and proportionality in our response to offenders and crime – and explore ways in which bilateral (restorative) and unilateral (traditional) methods of resolution can amend this apparent conflict and remain collaborative partners in bringing justice to their communities responsibly and safely.