Clarke County (Ga.) Victim Impact Panels
Solution types
Effectiveness

Promising

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Promising

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Life periods served
Where the program was applied
Country of application
Description

This is a restorative justice program for offenders convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol. The objective is to raise participants’ awareness of the consequences of their criminal act through contact with victims.
During the panels, offenders listen to the victims and understand the pain and loss they suffered due to a drunk driver. Failure to attend a session is the same as violating probation and therefore results in a new, jailable hearing.

Impact evaluations

An impact evaluation study showed that, after five years of intervention, offenders who participated in the program experienced a 15.8% decrease in recidivism associated with alcohol-impaired driving, compared to 33.5% of offenders in the control group, who did not receive the intervention.
The study had a quasi-experimental design with 404 in the treatment group and 430 in the control group, as well as 96 victims [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Rojek, D. G., Coverdill, J. E., & Fors, S. W. (2003). The effect of victim impact panels on DUI rearrest rates: A five‐year follow‐up. Criminology, 41(4), 1319-1340. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2003.tb01021.x

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