Juvenile Restitution as a Sole Sanction or Condition of Probation - An Empirical Analysis

• NCJ Number: 81391
• Author(s): P R Schneider; W R Griffith; A L Schneider
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 35 pages
• Grant Number(s): 79-JN-AX-0009
• Sponsoring Agency: US Securities and Exchange Cmssn
• Corporate Author: Institute of Policy Analysis
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Research report on the National Evaluation of the Juvenile Offender Restitution Program

Annotation

Based on data from more than 10,000 juvenile court cases involving restitution, the outcomes of cases in which offenders were sentenced to restitution as a condition of probation are compared with those in which the offender was ordered restitution as a sole sanction.

Abstract

Projects involved in the study were those funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Youths referred to these restitution projects receive three types of dispositions: restitution as a sole sanction, restitution as a condition of probation, and restitution under a suspended sentence of commitment to a juvenile institution. The type of restitution required may be monetary, community service, direct service to victims, or any combination of these three. Restitution as a condition of probation is the most common disposition ordered, but a large number of the referrals also received restitution as a sole sanction. Those who received restitution as a sole sanction demonstrated a markedly higher rate of successful completion than those with combined dispositions. The 95 percent successful completion rate for this group is even more impressive given the overall rate of about 88 percent. The relationships between restitution as the sole sanction and successful completion remains strong even when offender characteristics are controlled. Those offenders receiving restitution as a sole sanction are also less likely to commit new offenses while under the jurisdiction of the restitution project. Tabular data and about 25 references are provided.