NCJ Number
125438
Date Published
1989
Length
34 pages
Annotation
Using interviews with program directors, information from case files, and telephone surveys with victims who were rewarded restitution, this American Bar Association (ABA) study suggests strategies to improve compliance and victim satisfaction with court-ordered restitution.
Abstract
The report recommends that the ability of the offender needs to be further considered when setting the amount and conditions of the restitution awards and when responding to delinquent offenders. Compliance can be increased through close program monitoring of offenders, beginning as soon as the restitution award is ordered. Third, programs can increase their efficiency and effectiveness by considering the level of risk of nonpayment posed by individual offenders, which is related to community ties and prior criminal records. Victim satisfaction with the restitution process would clearly be increased through greater program efforts directed towards them. Finally, restitution program resources should be increased, particularly in technology development and implementation. Future research should focus on the factors associated with offenders' motivations to pay restitution and their ability to do so. These findings should be subjected to more rigorous tests in several sites to ascertain their validity. 4 appendixes, 6 references.