The report discusses the concept of restitution from historical and legal perspectives. Crime victims compensation in New York State and the subrogation right of the Crime Victims Board are described, as are relevant laws. A summary of restitution data cites a 34.5 percent increase in restitution orders during 1985-86 and a 62 percent increase in orders satisfied. It cautions that changes may partially reflect problems in implementing the new restitution information system. The same cautions apply to a 100 percent increase found in requests for victim impact information, victim responses to these requests, and requests forwarded to the sentencing courts. The report examines restitution amounts ordered and ranks the major offenses and violations for which restitution was ordered. The final section reports the findings of a 1987 survey of probation departments to assess actual policies and practices in enforcing restitution orders. Recommendations to improve the system are presented. 29 references, tables, forms.