Hitting a Brick Wall: Barriers to the Ordering and Collection of Victim Restitution in Iowa

Background and Purpose:  Crime victims are entitled to restitution for monetary losses resulting from their victimization.  Substantial amounts of court debt, including victim restitution, go unpaid in Iowa and the US.  While restitution is touted as a means for holding offenders “accountable” for their crimes, court systems also need to be accountable for documenting their efforts and failures in collecting restitution.  The project sought to identify gaps in the restitution ordering and collection process in Iowa to make recommendations to improve this process.

Methods:  A purposive sample of 21 Iowa counties from a mix of rural/non-rural counties based on the 2013 USDA Urban Influence codes, with and without victim witness coordinators (VWCs) and debt collection units, from all judicial districts, were selected.  Semi-structured interviews with county attorneys (N=20), VWCs (N=14), County Clerks (N=14), and county debt collection staff (N=12) were conducted to illustrate the steps in the restitution process from initial contact with eligible victims, to filing and granting of an order of restitution, through final collection of monies. County attorneys and VWCs were interviewed together and asked about the victim registration process used to collect restitution information, and their thoughts on barriers and successes to ordering and collecting restitution.  Collection unit staff were asked about their procedures for tracking offenders, setting up payment plans, and monitoring offender compliance with payments. Clerk interviews focused on their role in collecting and distributing payments to victims.  Each interview had a primary interviewer and a note-taker. Efforts were made to capture an accurate representation of statements made in the interviews. All interviewer notes were transcribed and coded to identify key themes using NVIVO.  A readability analysis of counties’ victim registration packets was also performed 

Findings:  We identified three “brick walls” in Iowa’s victim restitution process. Victim registration, the first step, can hit a brick wall if the victim does not return the restitution claim form included in the registration packet.  County staff felt the registration packets were an “overwhelming” amount of information and they lacked resources to follow-up with non-responsive victims. Our analysis of the readability of these packets found they were not written at an accessible reading or comprehension level. Collecting money from defendants is the second brick wall and is hindered by two factors:  1) establishing payments with defendants in a timely manner, and 2) eroding of effective court sanctions for compelling defendants to pay. 

The final brick wall happens at the time of payment. Clerks receive victim contact information when restitution is ordered, but considerable time may elapse before defendants make payments and Clerks lack resources to locate victims.

Conclusions and Implications:  Study results suggest practice changes to  improve the victim restitution process:  1) improve comprehension of the victim registration packets and increase outreach to victims, which may increase victim registration rates; 2) allow counties greater flexibility for establishing payment plans at the time of sentencing, which may improve offender compliance with payment; and 3) improve methods for maintaining contact with victims after sentencing to help assure victims receive payment.