Source: (1985) Wellington, NZ: New Zealand Department of Justice
This study investigates the use of restitution provisions in New Zealand in 1983. One year after restitution orders were made, 80% (N=201) of the orders were still being collected by the court, 16% by probation, and 4% by social welfare. Sixty-two percent (N=156) of offenders had paid all their restitution. Fine enforcement proceedings were started for 12% (N=30) of offenders, and 11 custodial sentence incurred by committing some other offense. Recommendations include: that courts receive systematic information about victim losses; that sentencing reports explicitly address the appropriateness of restitution; and that courts cite reasons for not imposing restitution.
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