Restitution as a Sanction in Juvenile Court

Abstract

Over the past decade, restitution has assumed increasing significance as a sanction both in the juvenile and in the criminal justice system. The purpose of this article is to examine the current trend toward utilizing restitution from a critical and historical perspective. Current restitution policies and practices are placed within the context of three major trends in justice: (1) the individualization of the juvenile court; (2) the growing concern with the victims of crime, and (3) the blurring of traditional distinctions between criminal and tort law. Restitution as a sanction is evaluated in the context of these three developments, and the contemporary form of restitution is compared with its historical predecessors.