Policy Statement
4		 Ensure that victims receive the restitution they are owed.
Recommendation
B		 Educate victims about the restitution process, maintain updated victim contact information, and keep victims apprised of the status of restitution payments.

Victims are often unaware of their right to restitution, let alone how to pursue it. Even when restitution is ordered and collected, monies often fail to reach victims because, understandably, court or probation staff have trouble keeping victim contact information current.

Prosecutors, probation officers, court personnel, victim advocates, and staff from the agency responsible for consolidating collections should employ a number of methods to ensure that victims receive restitution:

  • Provide victims with information about their rights to restitution and assistance in documenting their losses through victim impact statements.1
  • Collect victim contact information and ensure that an updated address and telephone number for the victim is maintained (or an alternative contact’s telephone number for a victim who fears for his or her safety).
  • Inform victims about what to expect during the criminal justice process, including the amount and pace at which they can likely expect to receive restitution payments.
  • Keep victims apprised of the status of restitution payments, including any changes made in payment schedules.

Restitution payments of any size can be essential because they represent personal accountability. At the same time, victims differ as to what payment size is sufficient to demonstrate accountability. Staff from the consolidating agency responsible for collections should consult victims when determining what amount warrants sending a restitution payment and ensure that payments are of a reasonable size (e.g., more than $30) before they are sent to victims.

The Difficulty of Maintaining Victim Contact Information

Maintaining victim contact information is difficult because victims may move or be reluctant to share their information out of fear for their safety. As this happens, the likelihood diminishes of obtaining a victim impact statement or ensuring that he or she receives the restitution that is owed. The importance of maintaining victim contact information warrants the use of time-intensive methods to update these records (e.g., telephone calls to family members, and phone book and computer searches).

Victim Location, Community Supervision and Corrections Department, Tarrant County, Texas

Community supervision staff use a computer service database to conduct extensive, electronic searches of marriage licenses, driver’s licenses, city utilities records, nationwide telephone directories, and other sources to locate victims who are owed restitution. In 1999, staff had successfully located 640 victims, who received almost $400,000 in restitution.2

1 Victim advocates, prosecutors, and probation and parole officers should also inform victims of the potential for tax relief for losses due to being a victim of fraud or theft. For more information, see Internal Revenue Service, Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts, publication no. 547 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, 2005).

2 Crowe, Murray, and Hook, “A Compendium of Promising Practices.”