Reparation: The Background, Rationale, and Relevance to Criminal Justice (From Probation and the Community, P 194-208, 1987, John Harding, ed. -- NCJ-116499)

• NCJ Number: 116509
• Author(s): J Harding
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 15 pages
• Sale Source: Tavistock Publications/Methuen, Inc
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Interest in reparation has been increasing in the United Kingdom, Europe, and North America.

Abstract

Part of this increased interest in reparation stems from an increased awareness of the impact of criminal victimization and the needs of crime victims. In addition, rising crime rates and prison populations have led to an increased emphasis on offender accountability and intermediate sanctions. Increased interest in justice models in penology and community-based sanctions also have fit well with reparation schemes such as victim compensation and community service. In Britain and the United States, reparation has developed in five separate, but linked ways involving out-of-court settlements between offenders, victims, and court-based programs. Out-of-court diversionary strategies include the use of reparation as an adjunct to cautioning juvenile offenders. Another approach involves the use of neighborhood dispute/community mediation centers. Court-based programs, using a post-conviction model, use probation services in victim-offender reconciliation programs. Preliminary evidence suggests that such mediation and reparation programs have beneficial effects for both victims and offenders. 33 references.