Restitution is the act of restoring to the rightful owner something that has been taken away, lost, or surrendered. The compensation for that loss is made through economic or monetary means. The people sentenced through the court to pay restitution are overseen by a probation officer. The criminal courts order probationers to pay restitution to victims of crime. The Department of Probation is tasked with collecting and disbursing the court ordered restitution.
In addition, the department collects money for crime victims in Westchester from offenders who are supervised in states throughout the country as well as sentenced prison inmates.
The department works with victims to inform them of the amount of restitution they will be receiving and officers remain available to those individuals to answer questions throughout the process.
Probation officers also advise offenders of the consequences if the restitution they have been ordered to pay for that month is not fulfilled. The current restitution account balance and payment history are directly accessible to any officer via our case management system.
Departmental policy requires that when restitution payments are not made, or are in arrears for a three-month period, supervising probation officers will work with offenders to make payments or return the case to court on a violation for non-payment. In cases where the possibility that restitution payments will not be completed by the probationer, through no fault of their own, officers will recommend to the court that a judgment be applied so that the offender remains responsible for the amount past the sentence termination date.
In 2022, the department collected of $230,000, which has been disbursed directly to victims of crime.