Source: (2007) Criminal Justice and Behavior. 34(1):76-95.
Restorative justice has recently become popular among practitioners, but there have been few rigorous evaluations of
programs. For approximately 5 years, Ventura County, California, probation staff and other local organizations worked
together on the South Oxnard Challenge Project (SOCP), a juvenile probation program designed to implement Clear’s “corrections
of place†(COP) ideas. The program is evaluated using a randomized experimental design and the results of surveys
with youth clients, staff, and the youths’ caregivers regarding the effectiveness of the SOCP in reaching COP-related goals
are reported. Results reflect that there were few differences between SOCP clients and routine probationers’ perceptions of
their experiences. SOCP staff members were significantly more likely to believe they were reaching COP goals than were
routine probation officers. Caregivers believed the SOCP was more helpful than routine probation.(author’s abstract)
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