Only in the province of Cordova, during 2016 a total of 379 mediations with minor offenders were recorded, with a growth of 1.6% compared to the previous year. This figure places Córdoba in second place, after Almería, with respect to the highest number of mediations carried out with minor offenders, reaching almost 19% of all those carried out in Andalusia.
The Andalusian Autonomous Community has 8 mediation teams, one for each province. Of the 2,030 mediation procedures with juvenile offenders carried out throughout Andalusia last year, 65% were resolved positively, thus preventing conflicts from ending in trials. On the other hand, only 10% of the mediations carried out were unviable, while the remaining 25% of the cases were still being processed at the end of 2016. It is worth mentioning that 71% of the mediations were carried out with children and 29% with girls.
From the percentage of mediations resolved successfully, the following data emerge: 51% of them involved the repair of damages caused by minor offenders, 26% ended with an act of conciliation and reparation included, and 23% only with a conciliation.
The professionals in charge of mediating with minors try that young offenders become aware and take responsibility for the consequences of their crimes or misdemeanors, making them understand the harm caused and conveying to them the need to apologize to the victims and repair the damage, depending on the fault committed and what is established in each case.
These data reveal that the program managed by the Department of Justice and Interior of the Government of Andalusia is bearing fruit. According to the words of the delegate of the Andalusian Government in Córdoba, Rafi Crespín, the mediation system for juvenile offenders was born with the aim of establishing itself as the ideal alternative for extrajudicial conflict resolution as a method of reeducation and reintegration into society, something essential to prevent recidivism by young people.
