NCJ Number
70288
Journal
Evaluation and Change Dated: Special Issue (1980) Pages: 116-119
Date Published
1980
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Restitution to victims is usually a part of offender-oriented rehabilitation programs, but it should also be utilized to involve victims in criminal justice proceedings and decisionmaking.
Abstract
Since the creation of the Minnesota Restitution Center in 1972, many victim restitution projects have been set up around the country. These projects are usually a part of offender-oriented rehabilitation programs, or serve to decrease or increase the penalties. However, the experience of these programs shows that restitution can also be utilized to address victim concerns within the system and involve victims in criminal justice proceedings and decisionmaking. The Minnesota Restitution Center used a procedure by which victims went to the prisons and negotiated restitution obligations with the offender in the presence of a staff person. Since responsibility for such programs typically would fall upon probation officers who already have heavy demands on their time, a careful and critical analysis of the nature of probation work is needed. Models of probation should be developed which would integrate offender and victim interests. References are included.