Police Cannot Receive Restitution Because They Are Not Victims Under State Statute

After tearing up a private road, police cannot seek restitution from a convicted burglar because they are neither victims nor an entity that provides recovery services to a victim

State v. Knight, 2016 BL 252202, Me., No. KEN-15-534, 8/4/2016.

    The Maine Supreme Court held that police, under the state’s victim restitution law, are not authorized to collect restitution from a convict as part of his sentencing because they are neither victims nor an entity that provides recovery services to victims. The issue arose from an incident when police tore up a private road while catching a burglar. After the conviction, the police sought restitution from the convicted burglar to pay for the repairs of the road under Maine’s victim restitution law. The Supreme Court disagreed with the sentence, however, holding that the victim restitution law was narrowly written to only apply to direct victims of the crime or services that directly help victims. Since the police were neither in this case, they could not recover anything, passing on the expense to the community that maintains the road.

http://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/document/State_v_Knight_No_KEN15534_2016_BL_252202_Me_Aug_04_2016_Court_Op.