In the wake of recent incidents of neighbors attacking each other, Harford County sheriff?s deputies will soon add another ticket book to their arsenal, and police and county officials hope it will prevent future violence.
Beginning next month, deputies will carry booklets of mediation referral tickets, Sheriff?s Office Spokesman Lt. Jim Eyler said.
The tickets will refer people with grievances to the Harford County Community Mediation Program, a free alternative to the court system and ? in more extreme cases ? violence.
“Typically, we are just putting out fires, and we can?t offer long-term solutions,” Eyler said of instances when deputies respond to disputes between people.
But by referring disputing people to the voluntary mediation program, deputies will have a tool that authorities hope will cut down on calls for service and create solutions both parties can agree on.
Created several years ago, the program is staffed by trained volunteers who sit down with arguing parties and help them reach a resolution on matters of business, property, employment and other issues that can cause conflict, according to the program?s Web site.
“A judge?s decision will define a winner and a loser. Through the confidential mediation program, both sides can come to an agreement that is beneficial for all,” said Patrick Drabinski, one of the mediators.
Drabinski said the motivation behind the mediation referral tickets is to increase awareness of the program and encourage people to consider using mediation during the early stages of a dispute.
Statewide, 80 percent of all cases that go to mediation are resolved in a manner that is beneficial to both sides, according to Lorig Charkoudian, executive director of the state Community Mediation Directory. Of that 80 percent, Charkoudian said 90 percent of those involved say the agreement is still working six months later.
“It can take a lot of courage to sit down face-to-face with someone you are so angry with,” Charkoudian said. “But when people come up with their own solutions to a problem, they are more likely to see an agreement through.”
For help
Anyone can voluntarily request help from the Harford County Community Mediation Program, which is prepared to help in conflicts between businesses and consumers, landlords and tenants, homeowner associations and residents, parents and teens, as well as neighbors, familes and friends. It works with both adults and children and offers translators for non-Enlish-speakers. Services are free.
Located on South Main Street in Bel Air, the organization can be contacted by phone at 410-638-4807 or by e-mail at [email protected]. It also has a Web site: www.co.ha.md.us/services/mediation.
