Victims can hold people responsible for their offenses, and possibly divert offenders from criminal careers that would otherwise burden our financially-strapped system.
The Need
Even though incarceration is expensive, justice for victims of crime is not negotiable.
• In Georgia, about one adult in 13 is under some form
of correctional control, either on probation or parole, or
behind bars. This is the highest rate in the nation.
The national average is one in 31.
• About one adult in 70 is behind bars in Georgia.
Through Victim Impact Panels more members of the community can participate in delivering justice. Victims share their personal stories of the harm done because of violent crime.
As members of the panel, law enforcement officers, medical professionals, family survivors, and victims themselves have a role in the justice process.
Those who’ve committed crimes are able to hear how their actions affect others and hopefully learn, through empathy, how to become accountable and correct their behaviors.
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Our Program
The Victim Impact Panels are integrated into a larger Community Court approach of the The City of Atlanta Municipal Court as a sentencing alternative. Community Court takes a 
nontraditional approach to working with offenders, using sentencing alternatives and legal sanctions to promote rehabilitation and address the underlying causes of crime. The Court has a clear interest in seeing that offenders receive services that will help curb future criminal behavior. Victim Impact Panels will ensure accountability and sensitivity to the victim’s suffering and loss.
Sign up to share your story as part of the Victim Impact Panel. 
Reserve your space to attend the next Victim Impact Panel.
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