Conflict Resolution Services was established in March 2002 by grant money made available from Marion County Community Corrections.
The primary purpose of this program is to provide and promote the use of dispute resolution to resolve conflicts in Marion County. The Marion County Prosecutor's Office encourages the use of community mediation as an alternative to traditional prosecution for certain types of cases. This program is part of the Community Prosecution Division and works closely with the community, law enforcement and the court to resolve conflict through mediation.
Community mediation is often used in cases that involve interpersonal disputes such as neighbors complaining about each other. The trained volunteer mediator meets with the parties and works with them to attempt to resolve the dispute through communication.
A Community Impact Panel (CIP) is used as a sentencing alternative for quality-of-life crimes that are heard at Community Court. CIP's are staffed by volunteer members of the community who act as the conscience or voice or the community. The goal is to help the offenders understand how their offense affected the community in hopes that they don't repeat the negative behavior. There is no training needed, just a desire to be involved.
Citizen's intake and screening services are provided at the Prosecutor's Office, 251 E. Ohio St., third floor.
To schedule a mediation or find out more about these programs please contact Mark Taxter at (317) 327-2703.