Mediators seek to defuse tension before it escalates

In the six months that State Police have been patrolling Lebanon, Sgt. Jonathan Shapiro notes that troopers have responded to about 250 civil disputes.

It’s a number he wants to bring down.

“We chart repeat calls and disputes, and analyze why we go back,” he told The Lebanon Voice recently. “In many cases, I guarantee we go back multiple times.”

Shapiro, a meticulous analyzer of crime data and trends, said all too much time is spent by troopers put in the position of having to adjudicate civil dispute when they’d rather be out solving crimes of property and public safety.

To that end State Police will be ramping up a new initiative in Lebanon this month that aims to defuse civil disputes before they reach an arrestable level or become a chronic situation.

Civil dispute calls range from property and boundary arguments to business-customer and landlord-tenant disputes, he said.

They come in many variations, he explained, but they have one thing in common. When conventional law enforcement strategies come into play they tend to separate the combatants rather than seek a mutual reconciliation.

“The legal system separates parties. We want to bring them together,” he said.

To that end, he said troopers who patrol Lebanon will begin doing preliminary intervention efforts when they respond to civil disputes this month.

During their initial interview, if progress toward resolution of the dispute is in question, the parties will be urged to contact a dispute outreach organization,  

The Volunteers of America Northern New England Community Mediation Services Program. The service is free.

If one party responds to the service, then they send out a notice for a diversionary process, which would seek remediation outside law enforcement, Shapiro said. Sometimes, troopers will refer disputes directly to the mediation service, said Elaine Bourne, a mediations program manager.

Bourne said if the two parties agree to a meeting, the service sends two mediators.

If one doesn’t want to enter mediation, they might “conflict coach” the other. If the two refuse to meet, they might “caucus” both individually, she said.

“The point is to get the parties talking to each other,” she said on Monday.

If the mediation program fails, it goes back to a law enforcement process.

The hope here, however, is that mediation can nip a problem in the bud before it spirals into a potentially more dangerous situation, Shapiro added.