Double charged: how restoring victims complicates reforming youth

For juvenile offenders who get off easy in terms of jail time, the real payment for their crimes comes through victim restitution. The process aims to give the victims of crimes like robbery and vandalism fair compensation, but it doesn't guarantee that the juvenile offender is able to pay the claim. And, for minor offenders, the inability to come up with money can prolong probation for the original crime. “What we see is that it’s all about punishment. For example, there’s a whole caseload of kids that have satisfied every other term and condition of their probation, but they just don’t get off probation because they still owe money.”  This original story, about how restitution can complicate the juvenile justice process, is from Youth Radio.