NCJ Number
78987
Date Published
1979
Length
69 pages
Annotation
A 1979 audit of the parking and traffic citations processing and collection systems of Multnomah County's District Court (Oregon) found major management deficiencies which had resulted in 1 out of 3 parking tickets issued not being paid and other citations being dismissed without adequate review.
Abstract
The district court's jurisdiction and caseloads are described, as well as the judicial processes for handling parking tickets and traffic citations. Reviews of court records and interviews with court personnel revealed many problems. Responsibility for administrative control of parking enforcement functions is not clearly defined, and obligations between Portland and Multnomah County for towing and other tactics need clarification. Although district court judges corrected a major deficiency by stopping administrative dismissal of traffic infractions, controls over dismissals of parking tickets are still inadequate. Blanket writeoffs of 122,000 unpaid parking tickets occurred in 1978, with some of these tickets being only 12 months old. Short-term actions to cope with some problems are described, including elimination of the parking tag processing backlog, a limited amnesty period for citizens to pay outstanding fines, and an intensive towing campaign. Recommendations for long-term improvements are detailed, including district court judges assuming more administrative responsibility, shifting the entire system to the county executive branch, and increasing cooperation with law enforcement agencies to crack down on violators. A review of court administration policies is also suggested. The appendixes contain data on court revenues, citation dismissals, fine collections, a list of repeat offenders, and responses from other agencies to the audit report.