| Tittel: | To Refer or Not to Refer? Police Discretion and Morality in the Danish Victim-Offender Mediation Programme | | Ansvar: | Clara R. Sandbye, Søren R. B. Christensen, Sif A. I. Mogensen, Christian Gade og Sarah van Mastrigt | | Forfatter: | Sandbye, Clara R.  / Christensen, Søren R. B. / Mogensen, Sif A. I. / Gade, Christian / Mastrigt, Sarah van | | Materialtype: | Artikkel - elektronisk | | Signatur: | Nordic Journal of Studies in Policing | | Utgitt: | Oslo : Universitetsforlaget, 2024 | | Omfang: | S. 1-19 | | ISBN/ISSN: | 2578-9821 | | Serie: | Nordic Journal of Criminology ; 1/2024 | | Emneord: | Konfliktrådet / Politi / Politiarbeid | | Geografiske emneord: | Danmark | | Note: | Open access. Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0) | | Innhold: | Abstract
Police officers are gatekeepers of the Danish victim-offender mediation programme (Konfliktråd) because they have primary responsibility for referring citizens to mediation. The aim of this article is to investigate discretionary elements of police practice that may shed light on the reasons for low caseflow into the programme. Drawing on interviews with 16 frontline police officers, this case study explores both pragmatic and moral dimensions of referral practices to Konfliktråd. In line with previous work, we find that victim-offender mediation is generally not prioritised in the daily work of frontline police officers. Applying a moral policing lens, we further illustrate how multiple (in)acts of discretion influence not only whether the possibility of mediation is presented to victims and offenders, but also how this offer is framed. Greater attention to officers’ ‘gut feelings’, moral evaluations of offender eligibility, and care for victims, is needed to comprehend and address problems with unequal access to restorative justice in Denmark.
Keywords: restorative justice, victim-offender mediation, Konfliktråd, police discretion, access to justice, morality | | Del av verk: | Nordic Journal of Criminology 1/2024 |
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