NCJ Number
100451
Date Published
1985
Length
70 pages
Annotation
This study examines the policies and procedures used by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts for tracking, monitoring, collecting, and enforcing criminal fines.
Abstract
The analysis involved 860 randomly selected cases with fines imposed during 1979 and 1982 in 5 Federal court districts. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, 11,574 fines totaling $56.7 million were imposed on Federal offenders during fiscal year 1984. Unpaid criminal fines totaled $158 million as of September< 30, 1984, according to the Justice Department. The study indicates that the Justice Department and the Federal district courts are not collecting criminal fines promptly or enforcing fine collections from those who default. The Federal 1984 Criminal Fine Enforcement Act was enacted after this review. If implemented properly, the law will resolve many of the problems identified in this review. Under the act's provisions, the Justice Department and the Administrative Office should cooperate in collecting and sharing defendant's financial information, using installment payments, establishing a centralized criminal fine management system, and using enforcement techniques. Other recommendations and agency comments are included. Tabular and graphic data.