Cincinnati: New tool for police and prosecutors expected to be more effective than charges in many cases

CINCINNATI —

A new tool for police and prosecutors is coming to Cincinnati in a pilot mediation program beginning next month.

The program from the Cincinnati solicitor’s office is designed to settle disputes outside of the courtroom.

“Our goal with the city mediation program is to reduce the amount of cases that are filed in court that are ultimately not prosecuted,” said Cincinnati mediation program coordinator Susan Zurface. “Ultimately, party outcome tends to be better for feuding parties when they have an opportunity to help foster their own end agreements.”

The program is for non-violent misdemeanor cases or a dispute that required law enforcement but didn’t involve a criminal offense.

Police get involved in disputes between family members, neighbors, co-workers, in-laws and all kinds of other cases where mediation is a good option.

“Parties will be given the opportunity on-scene to go to mediation. Mediation will happen over the course of a couple of weeks. The officer will describe the program to them, explain why mediation might be a better result for the parties,” Zurface said.

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