Abstract

In this article, the current state of the Danish police-based victim-offender mediation (VOM) programme is examined against the background of the Norwegian Mediation Service (NMS). In the two similar national languages both are called Konfliktråd, and the Danish programme – which was launched in 2010 – is named after and clearly inspired by the Norwegian service. Yet they differ in terms of organisational structure, capacity and use. Despite similar population size, the NMS completes around 12 times as many meetings as the Danish VOM programme. Furthermore, since 2016 the average number of meetings completed per year by the Danish programme has dropped significantly. In the article, I examine how the development of the Danish VOM programme has seemingly been held back by its placement in the police and also by a lack of clear prioritisation by management, political support and legal status. The VOM secretariat and local VOM coordinators attempt to mitigate the negative effects of these factors. Yet the framework of the Danish VOM programme seems to continue hindering the emulation of the Norwegian service in terms of capacity and use.