Victim-Offender Mediation 193of unsuccessful programs can be huge. Without guidelines based on research, it will
be difficult to minimize the negative effects.
With prison overcrowding, it is more likely that many states will look for alter-
natives to traditional sentencing. States may begin to implement legislation for the
development of restitution programs; they may be met, however, with opposition
from the general public, whose current attitude is that punishment equals impris-
onment (Severson & Bankston, 1995). The public must be educated about the
deficiencies of prisons and how these institutions financially impact them. Before
legislation can be changed, society must become informed about alternatives to in-
carceration. As long as society equates imprisonment with punishment, politicians
will continue to build prisons instead of invest in prevention programs. Perhaps the
beginning of public education could occur through research results on the effec-
tiveness of restorative justice programs. Because of the diversity of such programs,
it is difficult to determine which aspects of various programs do or do not work,
Suggestions for Future Research
Further research on the effectiveness of victim-offender mediation programs is
needed (Severson & Bankston, 1995). Although some studies have reported recidi-
vism rates and program completion rates on individual programs, there is a need
for research which examines the benefits and consequences of all restorative justice
programs in order for recommendations to be made for program guidelines (Roy,
1993; Severson & Bankston, 1995). Also, there has been little research on long-term
recidivism rates for those who participated in a mediation program (Roy, 1993).
These data are essential when states are enacting legislation to develop initiatives. If
program developers do not have findings indicating which programs have successful
long-term effects and therefore would serve as models to develop, then the develop-
ment of these mediation programs will be no more successful than our overcrowded
prisons at reducing recidivism.
The case of Geiger is a clear illustration of how victim—offender mediation
programs can benefit the victim and offender. However, the outcome of this case
is not known. Quite possibly, the offender recidivated after his parole, perhaps this
time shooting and killing an individual. There is no way to know this information
for most cases that have completed mediation programs, simply because long-term
research on effectiveness is limited. Various studies indicate that victim—offender
mediation programs do work. Studies demonstrate a high victim satisfaction rate
and a recidivism rate no worse than those criminals who went through the traditional
sentencing model. With prison overcrowding and the United States spending less on
prevention and more on imprisonment, mediation programs appear to be promising.