1 Restorative Justice Programs: Milwaukee and Outagamie Counties Legislative Audit Bureau September 2004

Act 16 Created a Two- County Program u Act 16 authorized 2.0 FTE Assistant District Attorney positions u Act 16 created appropriations to fund the program u Act 16 created statutory reporting requirements for the counties and an evaluation requirement for LAB

3 Program Expenditures, FY u $100,600 in FY u Federal Byrne Grant funds are matched by penalty assessments u Office of Justice Assistance and the State Prosecutors Office have administrative roles in the program

4 Restorative Justice Programs Vary u Victims, offenders, and the community are typically involved u Repairing the harm caused by the crime is a primary objective u Milwaukee and Outagamie counties operate several programs

5 Milwaukee County Programs u Community Conferencing u Neighborhood Initiative

6 Outagamie County Programs u Drunk Driving Impact Panel u Domestic Violence Fast Track u Drug Fast Track u Community Court u Victim-Offender Conferencing

7 Number of Offenders in Restorative Justice Programs Program Drunk Driving Impact Panel Domestic Violence Fast Track95168 Drug Fast Track4351 Community Court216 Victim-Offender Conferencing64 Total Outagamie County

8 Recidivism as a Measure of Program Effectiveness u Act 16 required reporting on recidivism u Our independent calculation for Milwaukee County shows reduced recidivism for participating offenders u An independent calculation was not possible for Outagamie County

9 Recidivism Rates in Milwaukee County 2002 Cases Community Conferencing ProgramControl Group Offenders with No Prior Convictions: Rearrested or Charged within One Year8.8%27.6% Rearrested or Charged through Offenders with a Prior Conviction: Rearrested or Charged within One Year Rearrested or Charged through

10 Programs in Other Wisconsin Counties u Restorative justice programming is in place in at least 11 other counties u Program philosophies and measures of success vary u Program structures, funding, and staffing levels vary

11 Options for Legislative Consideration u Appropriate GPR for Outagamie and Milwaukee counties when the current funding expires with FY u Seek information from the Office of Justice Assistance on the availability of Byrne Grant funds to support programs in other counties u Appropriate no funds after FY