Menu Search Account

LegiStorm

Get LegiStorm App Visit Product Demo Website
» Get LegiStorm App
» Get LegiStorm Pro Free Demo

Fines and Restitution: Improvement Needed in How Offenders' Payment Schedules Are Determined

  Premium   Download PDF Now (67 pages)
Report Type Reports and Testimonies
Report Date June 29, 1998
Report No. GGD-98-89
Subject
Summary:

Persons convicted of a federal crime can be ordered to pay a fine or restitution at sentencing. Criminal fines, which are punitive, are to be paid in most cases to the Justice Department's Crime Victims Fund. Restitution is to be paid in certain federal criminal cases in which there is an identifiable victim. Overall, in 1996, the federal courts imposed about $102 million in fines and $1.5 billion in restitution. This report (1) identifies the guidance available to probation officers on how to determine payment schedules for offenders who are ordered to pay fines to the government and restitution to their victims and (2) assesses, in two judicial districts, how offenders' payment schedules were actually determined while under court supervision. An upcoming GAO report will include information on the types of offenders who are ordered to pay fines and restitution and those who are not ordered to pay.

« Return to search Government Accountability Office reports