NCJ Number
102468
Date Published
Unknown
Length
61 pages
Annotation
Involvement of an Iowa court district's correctional department in efforts to secure payment of restitution improved the rates of payment of restitution in comparison to previous years.
Abstract
The Department of Correctional Services for the First Judicial District took over the collection of restitution from people it supervised in Black Hawk, Grundy, and Buchanan Counties starting in March 1979. A restitution clerk collected and recorded payments. Offenders who missed three consecutive monthly payments had to attend a court hearing. Probation officers also received notices of any missed payments and contacted the offenders who missed them. The program resulted in a 234-percent increase in collections of restitution in Black Hawk County on an annual basis. Data were not available for the other counties. Among a sample of 230 cases, 79 percent made full payment. The program cost approximately $9.62 per $100 collected. Most of the offenders who paid none or only part of the restitution had other problems resulting in probation revocation or absconding. Probationers are unlikely to comply with orders to repay more than $1,500 during a 2- to 5-year period. Recommendations for program and legislative changes, forms, background materials.