| Policy Statement 4 |
Ensure that victims receive the restitution they are owed. |
| Recommendation C |
Educate people who owe restitution about its importance. |
People who owe restitution may not recognize the impact their crime has had on the victim or appreciate the critical role restitution plays in reimbursing victims for financial losses that flow from the crime. To promote payment and to help people who owe restitution appreciate the harm they have caused, corrections staff should provide programming for people who have committed crimes (such as victim impact classes) that emphasizes the importance of restitution and reparative activities to victims and communities.
Impact of Crime on Victims Class, Department of Corrections, Arizona
As part of its Restorative Justice Initiative, the Arizona Department of Corrections is piloting victim impact classes in 6 of its 10 prisons. The 10-week program is designed to help prisoners realize the consequences of their past actions. As part of the program, victims make presentations to prisoners about how crimes such as robbery, substance abuse, drunk driving, and violence can affect victims, and prisoners donate labor for victim service organizations.1
1 Judy Villa, “Victims’ Perspectives Connect with Prisoners,” Arizona Republic, October 7, 2006.