NCJ Number
125399
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1990) Pages: 127-140
Date Published
1990
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Restitution has proved to be a criminal justice policy with such widespread support that a number of jurisdictions in the United States have passed legislation that presumes that restitution as an award in appropriate cases should be the norm.
Abstract
However, despite popular support for its increased use and the accompanying enabling legislation, restitution has remained an underutilized resolution in actual dispositions. In order to realize the potential of restitution as a criminal justice sanction, a consensus regarding its definition is needed, technical data about how restitution is implemented must be gathered, and practical impediments to awarding and collecting restitution are removed. The authors maintain that these changes will not occur until the basic conflict between using a restorative sanction such as restitution in a punitive criminal justice system is resolved. 4 notes, 69 references. (Author abstract modified)