Offender Apologies (Page 4 of 5) in pdf

SAMPLE INTRODUCTORY LETTER

TO VICTIMS REGARDING APOLOGIES

Dear Mr./Ms.

The (name of) agency would like to thank you for participating in the juvenile justice process. Your

participation is critical to holding the youthful offender accountable for his/her actions, and your time and

input are valued by both our agency and the juvenile justice system in (county).

As part of the youth=s disposition and accountability, we try hard to help him/her understand the impact

his/her offense had on you and your family. Our ultimate goal is for the youth to accept responsibility for

his/her actions, to develop some sensitivity to the harm s/he caused his/her victim, and to feel remorse for

his/her delinquent actions.

As such, part of our casework process encourages the youth to think about the harm s/he caused, and

write a letter of apology to you. We work closely with our youthful offenders to ensure the

appropriateness of such a letter, to the degree possible, including use of language and the context in which

the letter is written. As each victim=s experiences are unique, each victim may have personal beliefs or

feelings about what constitutes an acceptable apology.

If you would like to receive the apology letter, you can contact me at (area code/telephone number), and I

will arrange to forward it to you (it will arrive in an envelope with our agency=s watermark). If you do

not want to receive the apology letter, I will make sure a copy goes into the youthful offender=s case file

to reflect his/her efforts to be held accountable for his/her actions.

I appreciate your consideration of this request. If you have any questions or need any additional

information, please contact me at (area code/telephone number).

Sincerely,

Offender Apologies Page 4