Wednesday, September 27, 2000
Millions owed in restitution
Felons allowed to skip fines, too
By Dan Horn
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Convicted felons in Hamilton County pay only 15 cents of every dollar they owe to taxpayers and crime victims.
Probation officers are supposed to collect the money as fines and fees, but a recent audit found that nearly $16 million remained unpaid in 1999.
Probation officials concede their officers should be collecting more money.
“We're not happy with it,” said Tim Shannon, an assis tant chief probation officer. “We think it can be better.”
The question is how much better. At least half the money owed to the county is considered “uncollectible”because so many felons are poor and unable to pay.
And the money that is collected often is paid slowly over several years, forcing the probation department to carry the debt on its books.
Even so, current and for mer leaders of the probation department agree that 15 cents on the dollar is not enough.
“It's pathetic,” said former Chief Probation Officer Michael Snowden, who resigned two months ago after a dispute with his officers. “It's something that needs to be addressed.”
Some county officials say the 40 officers in Common Pleas Court, which handles all felony cases, should make collection of the debt a higher priority.
They point out that the 40 probation officers in Municipal Court, which handles less-serious offenses, manage to collect about 37 cents for every dollar owed in their cases.
“It's tough to collect this money,” said Common Pleas Judge Steven Martin. “But if Municipal Court is doing that much better, then Common Pleas probably needs to take a look at how they're doing things.”
Problems with the debt collection were revealed in a recent audit of the probation department's books, from May 1998 to May 1999.
Other audits have found that Common Pleas officers routinely fail to carry out court-ordered drug tests on criminals, reducing the odds of catching felons who use drugs while on probation.
Those issues are expected to be on the agenda today when Common Pleas judges gather for their quarterly meeting.
The issue of debt collection was such a concern last year that Mr. Snowden formed a committee to study the problem. The committee was disbanded, however, after Mr. Snowden resigned in July.
“We're trying to figure out where the (debt) numbers should be,” said Mr. Shannon, who oversees the officers in Common Pleas Court. “We need to develop some strategies that will make it better.”
Probation officers must collect the money after the judges impose fines, fees, court costs and restitution.
The restitution is owed to crime victims and accounts for about $12 million of the total debt in Common Pleas Court. The remaining $4 million is owed to the probation department and the county's general fund.
Most agree it's not easy to collect the money. In most cases, the felons are fresh out of jail and have little or no means of supporting themselves, let alone paying off a court debt.
If a judge imposes a huge financial penalty — sometimes tens of thousands of dollars — an offender may need years to pay off the debt. And once an offender has served the maximum five years on probation, the debt may never get paid.
“A certain amount of this debt is uncollectible,” Mr. Shannon said. “The amount of harm (the felons) have caused is often well beyond their ability to pay for it.”
Municipal Court officers have fared better, in part because the fines in their cases are smaller. While they deal with petty thefts, officers in Common Pleas deal with major burglary rings.
But the municipal officers also monitor their debt collection more closely. They audit their collection rate every month and even have a friendly competition among themselves.
Their supervisor, Larry Muse, gives the monthly winner a piggy bank to put on his or her desk. Some winners have collected as much as 60 cents on the dollar.
Mr. Snowden said his 18 months as chief taught him that Common Pleas officers don't take debt collection seriously. “There was an attitude in Common Pleas that they didn't want to be money collectors,” he said.
While some felons will never be able to pay, Mr. Snowden said, more can be done to identify those who can.
He said he once spoke to a felon who had not paid any of the $100,000 he owed even though he drove a Cadillac and lived in a $350,000 house.
“He could pay,” Mr. Snowden said, “but no one made him.”
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