A Brief History of Community Mediation in relation to Victim-Offender Mediation

(Extracted from “Restorative Justice- How it Works” by Marian Liebmann, 2007, Jessica Kingsley, London)

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Community mediation and victim-offender mediation both started in the UK in the early 1980s - they were seen as part of the same philosophy.  There had been occasional instances of victim-offender mediation by individuals for quite a long time, particularly in special schools and therapeutic communities. Most of the early mediation services were largely dependent on visions of particular people or groups, including professionals from probation and psychology, and religious groups such as Anglican clergy and Quaker meetings. Quakers in particular have had a long-standing involvement in restorative approaches (Lampen 1987; Newell 2000; Wills 1945).

 

The National Association of Victims Support Schemes (NAVSS, now called Victim Support) was a focus of early activity and in 1981 produced a report ‘A First Survey of British Developments in Reparation and Mediation’ and held a conference on reparation. Regular meetings led to the establishment in 1984 of the Forum for Initiatives in Reparation and Mediation (FIRM, later renamed Mediation UK) (Reeves 1987).

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Mediation UK continued to be the umbrella organisation for victim-offender mediation services, and provided relevant conferences and publications, such as guidelines on starting a service (Mediation UK 1993) and a digest of relevant research (Braithwaite and Liebmann 1998). 

 

However, in the increasingly hostile political climate of the later years of the Conservative government, Mediation UK felt the need to help start another organisation which could lobby more freely. Members of Mediation UK and others started the Restorative Justice Consortium (RJC) in 1997 to bring together national organisations to create a groundswell for restorative justice. As the climate eased after the new Labour government came to power, the RJC opened its membership to any organisations and individuals interested in restorative justice.

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Mediation UK and the Restorative Justice Consortium (RJC)

 

These two organisations have existed side by side since the start of the RJC in 1997, and work in a complementary way. Mediation UK concentrates on practice issues and helping services to start; it organises conferences and produces publications on these aspects. The RJC has more of an awareness-raising role, organising policy consultations and producing publications for people entering the field. They have liaised with each other and with Victim Support over policy in the restorative justice field.

 

 

Training and accreditation

 

Training in victim-offender mediation and conferencing has been undertaken by the services themselves, who have also helped to train others. Some of these have been statutory agencies, some voluntary organisations. As restorative justice spread, the need for training increased, and several individuals and small groups have set up specialised training consultancies. The RJC brings trainers together in the Trainers’ Forum, which is working on a Code of Practice for trainers.

 

Accreditation has not been seen as necessary until recently. Practitioners were trained by their own services to work in the field, and were carefully supervised. More recently some restorative justice trainers have provided Open College Network or Mediation UK accredited courses (which are in regular use for community mediation courses, where accreditation is more developed), but there has been limited uptake as accreditation for restorative justice is not yet required – many practitioners have professional qualifications which they feel are sufficient.

 

The fields of family and community mediation both have forms of accreditation. Family mediators are accredited by the UK College of Family Mediators (2005) and community mediators are accredited by Mediation UK (2005) with their certificate of Competent Mediator Status. However, there is as yet no specific accreditation for restorative practitioners in Britain.

 

For a time there was a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in reparation, but only one person completed it. Then an NVQ in mediation (all kinds) was developed but phased out shortly after starting.  ‘Clusters’ of NVQ standards remained, but no full NVQ. The completion of Best Practice Guidance for Restorative Practitioners (see above) in 2004 meant that it could be used as the basis for developing National Occupational Standards. A small group of trainers (from the larger group that produced Best Practice) worked with Skills for Justice (a government department) to produce National Occupational Standards for Restorative Practice, which (at the time of writing, August 2006), are due to be published. This may then lead to a qualification in Restorative Practice.

 

There are also moves to set up an Association of Restorative Practitioners (ARP), under the umbrella of the RJC, to provide an independent professional association to be a national network of support and quality assurance for those involved in training and delivering restorative practices. Membership could be linked to qualifications as they are developed [1] .

 

Meanwhile the interest in restorative justice is leading to university Masters level courses. These are available or in the process of being developed at the universities of Chester, Hull and Ulster (RJC 2006); also at the International Institute for Restorative Practices (2006).

 

 

References

 

Braithwaite, S. and Liebmann, M. (1998) Restorative Justice – Does It Work? Bristol: Mediation UK.

 

Christie, N. (1977) ‘Conflicts as Property’ in The British Journal of Criminology, Vol 17:1, Jan 1977, pp1-15. London: British Journal of Criminology.

 

Home Office (2003) Restorative justice: the Government’s strategy. A consultation document on the Government’s strategy on restorative justice. London: Home Office Communication Directorate.

 

Home Office (2004) Best Practice Guidance for Restorative Practitioners, to form the basis of training and accreditation. Report of the Training and Accreditation Policy Development Group. London: Home Office. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/rj_bestpractice.pdf?version=1

Also at: http://www.restorativejustice.org.uk/Resources/pdf/BestpracticeDec2004.pdf

 

Home Office (2005) Restorative justice: Helping to meet local needs (Web-based guidance) http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/rj-local-needs-guidance

 

Home Office (2006) A Five Year Strategy for Protecting the Public and Reducing Re-offending. London: The Stationery Office. Cm 6717. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/five-year-strategy?version=1

 

Marshall, T. (1984) Reparation, Conciliation and Mediation, Home Office Research and Planning Unit, Paper 27. London: HMSO.

 

Marshall, T. and Merry, S (1990) Crime and Accountability. London: HMSO.

 

Marshall, T. and Walpole, M (1985) Bringing People Together: Mediation and Reparation Projects in Great Britain, Home Office Research and Planning Unit, Paper 33. London: HMSO.

 

Mediation UK (1993) Victim-Offender Mediation: Guidelines for Starting a Service, Bristol: Mediation UK.

 

Mediation UK (1999) Victim-Offender Mediation Services. Bristol: Mediation UK.

 

Quill, D. and Wynne, J., (1993) Victim & Offender Mediation Handbook. Leeds: Save the Children/ West Yorkshire Probation Service.

 

Reeves, H. (1987) ‘Mediation from a Victim Support Perspective’. London: Victim Support

 

Restorative Justice Consortium (2006) ‘RJ and related academic courses in the UK’. London: RJC. 

 

Wright, M. (1996) Justice for Victims and Offenders. (2 nd edition) Winchester: Waterside Press.

 

Zehr, H. (1990) Changing Lenses. Scottsdale PA and Waterloo, Ontario: Herald Press. (Available from London Mennonite Centre, tel: 020 8340 8775.)

 

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