NCJ Number
91630
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 46 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1983) Pages: 9-18
Date Published
1983
Length
10 pages
Annotation
In presenting the broad outlines for a reparative model of probation, this article argues that probation should be used as a vehicle for property offenders to render compensation to victims and achieve reconciliation with the community.
Abstract
The reparative sentence requires offenders to restore victim losses either through monetary restitution or personal service. If there were no victim losses or the nature of the offense requires a more severe penalty, additional reparations can be made to the community in the form of unpaid service. The reparative sentence should be implemented in a manner which maximizes the possibility of reconciliation of the offender with the community. This requires, whenever possible, active victim involvement in all phases of the sentence, involving the offender in the local community for community service restitution, and use of a community sponsor selected by the offender for monitoring implementation of the sentences. Probation functions will develop from the nature of reparative plans for individual offenders and the requirements for administering reparative plans in general. Issues that must be addressed in considering the widespread use of reparation probation are offender financial means and employment potential, whether restitution should be made to insurance companies, backup sanctions when a reparation plan is not completed, the willingness of victims to participate in and accept the plan, public acceptance of reparation as an alternative to imprisonment for a property offender, and the probation bureaucracy's willingness to accept a changed role. A chart is provided to illustrate the proposed model of probation as a reparative sentence.