Victim Restoration
In Pennsylvania, a juvenile who commits a crime harms the victim of the crime and the community, and thereby incurs an obligation to repair that harm to the greatest extent possible.
Guiding Principles:
Pennsylvania's juvenile justice system shall:
Ensure that the harm to the crime victim and the community is understood and considered by the decision makers throughout the juvenile justice process.
Inform crime victims about their rights, their cases, and the juvenile justice process.
Provide crime victims with access to a wide range of support and services and enable crime victims to actively participate in their cases.
Require that community service performed by juvenile offenders is of value to crime victims and communities.
Operate the juvenile justice system so that victims of juvenile crime regard the system as responsive, fair and just.
Ensure that juvenile offenders understand that their crimes have consequences.
Hold juvenile offenders accountable for restoration of crime victims and communities to their pre-crime status, to the greatest extent possible.
Ensure that parents and guardians understand the impact of crimes committed by their children.
Require juvenile offenders, their parents and guardians to fulfill legal obligations to crime victims, the community and the juvenile justice system.
Inform crime victims about their rights, their cases, and the juvenile justice process.
Provide crime victims with access to a wide range of support and services and enable crime victims to actively participate in their cases.
Require that community service performed by juvenile offenders is of value to crime victims and communities.
Operate the juvenile justice system so that victims of juvenile crime regard the system as responsive, fair and just.
Ensure that juvenile offenders understand that their crimes have consequences.
Hold juvenile offenders accountable for restoration of crime victims and communities to their pre-crime status, to the greatest extent possible.
Ensure that parents and guardians understand the impact of crimes committed by their children.
Require juvenile offenders, their parents and guardians to fulfill legal obligations to crime victims, the community and the juvenile justice system.
Victim Services Resources
