NCJ Number
87615
Date Published
1983
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This is a summary of the first 2 years of the National Juvenile Restitution Initiative projects funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). It provides information on terms of client and victim characteristics and program accomplishments; preliminary results suggest that restitution is a feasible alternative disposition for juvenile offenders.
Abstract
In 1978, OJJDP funded 41 restitution programs nationwide. In the first 2 years of operation, 17,354 offenders were referred to restitution projects. The average offender was a 15-year-old white male; about 30 percent of referrals were minorities. More than 30 percent were serious or chronic offenders; most had committed crimes such as arson, burglary, robbery, or assault. Most offenders (65 percent) were asked to pay monetary restitution and paid, on average, $169 apiece. Of all offenders accepted into restitution projects during the first 2 years, 86 percent completed their requirements successfully. There was a high rate of success even among the riskiest referrals. Overall recidivism rates were low (8 percent); youths most likely to reoffend had prior criminal records. Offenders making restitution as their sole sanction had substantially higher completion rates and lower reoffense rates than those who were also on probation. Employment subsidies (for public service work, etc.) were largely successful. Overall, restitution is a feasible, relatively inexpensive dispositional option for juvenile offenders. No references are cited.