Crime Victims, Restorative Justice and the Juvenile Court: Exploring Victim Needs and Involvement in the Response to Youth Crime

Abstract

Historically, juvenile courts have presented significant obstacles to crime victim participation and have given little emphasis to victim satisfaction as an intervention goal. In a recent series of focus groups held in four U.S. states, crime victims provided in-depth qualitative accounts of barriers to input involvement resulting from court culture and protocols. This paper presents these findings and considers implications for restorative justice reforms in the juvenile justice context.