California is failing to support victims of crime. Here’s how the state can do better | Opinion

We are failing crime survivors.

We fail them through our unwillingness to address root causes of crime, by insisting that accountability can only take the form of incarceration, in our negligence to invest in prevention and rehabilitative efforts, and by making it nearly impossible for survivors to access the services and support they need the most.

My family and I know this from personal experience. I’ve lost three brothers to gun violence, and I can tell you that what survivors in crisis need more than anything else: immediate access to resources and the support we need to heal.

Whether it be help navigating the justice system or accessing mental health counseling or other services, the fact is that most survivors don’t get support after experiencing harm. When it comes to financial or economic assistance to help offset medical costs or damages, the current system largely fails to meet our needs. And nowhere is this more apparent than in cases where young people convicted of a crime are ordered to pay restitution.

Currently, California law requires that judges order young people to pay restitution to victims. There is no limit on how much a court can order in restitution, and a young person’s ability to pay cannot be taken into consideration.

According to data collected by the Berkeley Law Policy Advocacy Clinic, just 20% of court-ordered youth restitution dollars have been collected by the state since 2010. Further, nearly 90% of outstanding restitution orders are more than three years old and are unlikely to ever be paid. In other words, an overwhelming majority of survivors will never see a penny of the financial support they are promised. The result has been a system that makes survivors promises it can’t keep and erects barriers that hinder young people’s success.

it’s not just survivors who are being harmed by this broken system. Children as young as six, many of whom have also been victims of harm themselves, end up saddled with up to thousands of dollars in debt that often follows them well into adulthood. In fact, over 12,000 young people are ordered to pay restitution each year in California, and Black youth are more likely to owe more in restitution than other youth.

Money aside, restitution does not keep us safer or deter future victimization. In fact, research shows that monetary sanctions, including restitution, actually contribute to higher recidivism rates among young people.

Rather than abandoning survivors and drowning young people and families already struggling to make ends meet in restitution debt, California can establish an alternative system that ensures survivors can access the resources they need to heal and promotes accountability by allowing young people to participate in community service or restorative or personal development programs in place of paying restitution.

Ultimately, there is no reason to waste valuable time and resources going after restitution that a young person and their family cannot afford to pay. Survivors need immediate support.

Assemblymember Mia Bonta’s REPAIR Act (Assembly Bill 1186) provides a pathway for timely resources and opportunities for healing that the current restitution system fails to provide. It also offers young people evidence-based alternatives to learn from their mistakes and avoid harming others in the future.

For far too long, we’ve failed survivors. Passing The REPAIR Act is one of many steps the California Legislature can take to help create safer communities and heal our wounds.