Collecting and Enforcing Criminal Fines: A Review of Court Processes, Practices, and Problems

• NCJ Number: 114843
• Journal: Justice System Journal Volume: 13 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1988) Pages: 17-36,90-92
• Date Published: 1988
• Author(s): S T Hillsman; B Mahoney
• Length: 23 pages
• Grant Number(s): 80-IJ-CX-0030; 81-IJ-CX-0034
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)

Annotation

As criminal fines and other monetary penalties become more important sentences in the United States, court administrators' success in monitoring, encouraging, and compelling their payment becomes a significant factor in the ability of courts to ensure the efficacy of financial sanctions, as well as the credibility of the court.

Abstract

Research in both American and Western European courts indicates that many court administrators are doing a better job collecting fines than the conventional wisdom suggests. However, performance can be improved substantially in most courts if administrators systematically apply collection and enforcement techniques and strategies that already exist and have been proven effective. (Author abstract)