It has been pointed out elsewhere in this Cahier how different types of restorative practices within the police forces in Belgium have touched ground. This relatively new development, which came to the fore in the second half of the nineties, mainly relates to the so-called local police, and less or not at all to the federal police.2 In this chapter, we will present and discuss findings of a research project dealing with one type of restorative practice at the level of the local police, namely mediation (with adult offenders). Research on a second restorative practice, namely conferencing (with minors), is discussed by Inge Vanfraechem in this volume, where she also analyses the role of the police. Other
sources with regard to restorative police practices in Belgium are available as well, including publications which are predominantly of a descriptive or exploratory nature (Beyens & Raes, 2005; Ponsaers, 2005; Van Garsse, 1998), conference papers, annual reports by local mediation services, activity reports by local partnerships on restorative justice, and observations by students and practitioners. However, since most of these sources do not rely on systematic empirical data collection and analysis, and often do not transcend the local level, they will only play a background role in this contribution. Likewise we will make use of personal observations with regard to the initiation and development of mediation at the level of the police.3 The research dealt with in this article concerns a short term study ordered by the Belgian federal government on the emerging practice and the organisation of victim-offender mediation at the level of the police in eleven municipalities in Flanders and the Brussels region. It mainly concerns mediation for minor offences, as it is offered by or in close cooperation with local police services. The aim of the research is to clarify the objectives and the administration of mediation within the particular context of a police force. The analysis offered in this
research might be of relevance in the light of more recent legislation in Belgium which enlarges the possible role of the police in the field of mediation. Before moving to a presentation of the research and starting a discussion on further needs and perspectives, we would like to highlight some key elements and notions which will help situating the research at hand. It must also be mentioned that this contribution is written against the background of restorative justice developments in general, and not from the perspective of the police organisation as such...