Voluntary mediation for crime prevention – a qualitative study of professionals working for the Council for Crime Prevention inGävle

Sammanfattning: Abstract: The  aim  of  this  study  was  to  examine  which  attitudes  professionals  who  are  involved  in voluntary mediation in  Gävle, have towards voluntary mediation  as a  preventative  working method. The  empirical  material  used  in  this  study,  has  been  gathered  through  semi-structured interviews with staff members of the so called Crime Preventers in Gävle (Brottsförebyggarna I Gävle, BIG) and staff members from the police and social services. These interviews helped to get a deeper understanding and detailed information about the attitudes towards restorative justice  and  voluntary  mediation.  The  theoretical  framework  that  was  used  was  social constructionism and restorative justice theory. The  Crime  Preventers  (BIG)  in  Gävle  are  keeping  the  method  and  process  up  to  date  by further  educating  themselves  within  the  subject  via  conferences,  workshops  and  similar activities. There seems to be a preference for working more with mediation, since currently the activity of the voluntary process is decreasing due to a decrease in suitable criminal cases for mediation. The results from this study however indicate that attitudes toward mediation, as a process and method  on  a  voluntary  basis,  are  highly  appreciated  amongst  those  who  are  continuously working with it.   However, further research on the subject is desired to develop it better and gain more from its positive effects.