by James Townsend
InfoStrat's SAVIN 360 solution provides comprehensive victim notifications for prisons and jails, and that is not all. The victim and offender data required for victim notification may be used for related solutions, such as victim grants, case work, and more, as part of a wholistic approach to victim offender services.Victim-offender mediation (VOM) or victim-offender dialogue (VOD) is a process that provides interested victims (primarily those of property crimes and minor assaults) the opportunity to meet their offenders in a safe and structured setting. The goal is to hold offenders directly accountable while providing important support and assistance to victims.
The non-profit Just Alternatives provides an excellent overview of VOD programs https://justalternatives.org/research-project-work/vod-guide-to-best-practices/ showing the steady adoption of VOD/VOM by many states over the last 30 years. The approaches taken by states such as Texas, New York, Iowa, Wisconsin, Louisiana and Washington vary and are being refined over time to achieve the best results.