Implementation and Acceptance of Victim-Offender Mediation Programs in the Federal Republic of Germany: A Survey of Criminal Justice Institutions

Abstract

This article first explains the existing legal rules in the FRG concerning restitution and victim-offender mediation in the fields of adult and juvenile penal law. Then new developments (in the 1980s) and the increased efforts to implement restitution and victim-offender mediation more effectively in criminal justice practice are dealt with. After considering several published reports on the acceptance of victim-offender mediation in the FRG up to 1989, a large national mail survey carried out in spring 1990 by the German Probation and Parole Association (DBH) is described in detail. About 2,500 institutions were asked with questionnaire methods whether or not they would approve of victim-offender mediation in their area of jurisdiction, whether or not victim-offender mediation was actually being practiced or projected, and whether or not the concrete office was already engaged in victim-offender mediation projects. Results are presented with tables and figures.