Offender Apologies (Page 2 of 5) in pdf

Offenders should expect, and correctional agencies should offer, nothing in return for an apology

to the victim, i.e. Aforgiveness@ or greater consideration for a reduced sentence or early release.

An alternative practice within restorative justice programming is to have the offender write the

apology letter and, if the victim is not interested in receiving it, simply including it as part of the

record in the offender=s case file.

Juvenile justice agencies can incorporate the following Aquestions@ into youthful offender

10.

programming that help them seriously consider reasons why they should apologize.

Correctional agencies should develop policies (utilizing these ten guidelines) that guide the

implementation of offender apologies within the larger context of restorative justice, case work planning,

and rehabilitative programming (utilizing these recommended guidelines as a framework).

Correctional agencies also need to establish in policy how much/how far the written dialogue extends.

Does the victim have the opportunity to respond to the offender? (If not, it should be explained to

the victim B in person or in writing B that a response is not possible)

Does the offender have the opportunity to respond a second time?

Do the same staff review all letters (in order to apply systematic criteria in the review process)?

QUESTIONS THAT YOUTHFUL OFFENDERS CAN CONSIDER

PRIOR TO WRITING APOLOGY LETTERS TO THEIR VICTIMS

Many juvenile justice professionals seek to incorporate an understanding of victim impact into the overall

apology process. In an ideal situation, youthful offenders should attend victim awareness classes as a

component of their programming to help them better understand the emotional, physical, financial and

spiritual/religious impact of crime. In addition, information obtained from the victim through victim

impact statements or pre-sentence investigations can be utilized B with permission from the victim B to

help provide a foundation for youthful offender apologies.

The following questions are designed for juvenile probation officers and victim awareness class

coordinators to make the offender apology process meaningful and relevant to the victim:

Did you do anything wrong?

If the offender answers Ayes,@ probe for details about what was Awrong@ about his/her

actions.

If the offender answers Ano,@ utilize information from his/her case file to point out the

Awrongness@ of his/her actions.

Look at what happened from your victim

s point of view:

If you were in his/her shoes, how would you feel?

Seymour, A. and English, S. (1999). AOffender Apologies Within a Restorative Justice

Context.@ Ft. Lauderdale, FL: Balanced and Restorative Justice Project.

Offender Apologies Page 2