General Information on mediation

What exactly is mediation?

A mediation session is:

• An alternative to the traditional complaint/disciplinary process.
• A voluntary, confidential process where a professional mediator helps officers and community members talk directly to each other.
• An opportunity for the officer(s) to hear how his/her actions affected the community members and vice versa.

A mediation session is not:

• A court hearing requiring witnesses.
• A process to determine who is guilty or innocent.  People are there to listen to each other, not to blame each other.
• A session where parties are forced to shake hands and make up.

More and more law enforcement agencies worldwide are adopting mediation as a way to resolve citizen-police conflict, because:

• Mediation has a higher success and satisfaction rate among community members and officers alike than traditional complaint processes.
• It is more likely to improve relations between communities and police.
• It is cost effective.
• It addresses problems at the source.

The Independent Police Review Division was conceived as a multi-faceted oversight agency that has a variety of tools to improve police services.  Started in 2002, the IPR Mediation Program was designed to provide an alternative way to resolve citizen complaints.

Mediation provides the opportunity for citizens and officers to meet face to face, and with the guidance of professional mediators, to discuss and resolve their concersn directly with each other (rather than turning the matter over to third parties, as happens with investigations).  

In offering mediation, the IPR has contracted with professional mediators who were selected through a competitive bid process.

The general information on mediation link explains how the program works.

For further information, please call IPR at (503) 823-0146.