This report, from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), is one in a series of papers published as a result of the Executive Session on Community Corrections.

In this report the authors describe trends in the assessment of criminal justice financial obligations (CJFOs), discuss the historical context within which these trends have unfolded, and reflect on their unintended (but perhaps easily foreseen) consequences.

The authors then treat restitution separately, given the distinct function (in theory at least) that restitution serves. They also raise serious concerns about how restitution tends to be implemented and who benefits from this particular obligation.

The authors end by considering alternative models for the effective and fair deployment of fines, fees and restitution in the criminal justice context.