Law Department

 

The City Mediation Program is a Cincinnati Police Department-referred opportunity for parties to reach an agreement before pursuing criminal charges. When officers respond to a dispute, they consider the nature of the dispute, the relationship of the parties to each other, corroborating evidence to support a criminal complaint, and the need of the parties for a swift resolution.

 

WHAT TYPE OF DISPUTES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE CITY MEDIATION PROGRAM?

If Police respond to a non-violent complaint, they may consider sending the matter to Mediation. The types of complaints could be theft-related, property damage, entering onto property, threats to damage property or to cause harm to another, issues of non-custodial parental interference with custody, noise complaints, or other similar issues.

WHO ARE ELIGIBLE PARTIES?

Parties who know each other are eligible for Mediation. Disputes arising between complete strangers or where an offender is not able to be identified are not appropriate for Mediation. Some common types of relationships are: Parent/Child; Parents of a Child in Common; People who are “talking,” dating, married, or in some other intimate relationship; Ex-intimate partners; New Significant Others of an Ex; Neighbors; Acquaintances; Associates; or other similar relationships.

WHAT DOES INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE MEAN?

A Police Officer cannot file a charge without Probable Cause. And a charge cannot be successfully prosecuted if there is not evidence to prove the charge Beyond a Reasonable Doubt. When a complaint is not supported by witness statements, good identification, or some physical evidence supporting the complaint, it will be difficult to prosecute. For these cases, we want to provide an alternative to criminal prosecution.

WHAT IF THERE IS PROBABLE CAUSE?

Sometimes an Officer will have probable cause to file the charge but will recognize that it will be difficult to serve a warrant on the suspect, resulting in a long delay in meeting the victim’s immediate needs. Other times, the Officer realizes that the victim or other witnesses may not be able to come to court when the offender is finally located. In these situation, the City Mediation Program is able to intervene to try to get an early and fast resolution that meets the victims needs and that keeps an offender from facing arrest and prosecution.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER POLICE REFER A DISPUTE TO MEDIATION?

The City Mediation Program staff begin processing referrals on the next business day after the Mediation referral is submitted. Someone will call both parties to get more information and to schedule a 2-hour Mediation with a non-biased, trained Mediator. Mediation sessions are scheduled Monday – Friday at 9am, 11am, and 2pm. All Mediations are conducted through a virtual meeting platform.

 

 

 

WHAT IF THE OTHER PARTY WON’T MEDIATE OR WE CAN’T REACH AN AGREEMENT?

It depends. If the referred dispute or disagreement meets the elements of a criminal offense, we refer the case to a Prosecutor who reviews all of the evidence and decides whether the case is eligible for prosecution. If the Prosecutor determines that there is probable cause, statements are taken from the victim and witnesses and a criminal complaint is filed.