After the Criminal Fine Enforcement Act of 1984--Some Issues Still Need To Be Resolved
GGD-86-2
Published: Oct 10, 1985. Publicly Released: Oct 23, 1985.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed Department of Justice and Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts' (AO) policies and procedures for tracking, monitoring, collecting, and enforcing criminal fines.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Justice | To eliminate duplication of the gathering of financial data and enhance the collection and enforcement of criminal fines, the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and the Attorney General should work together to develop a standard court financial report form that can be shared with U.S. attorneys' offices. |
Closed – Not Implemented
During survey work on criminal fines, GAO found that information is not shared. GAO briefed the Senate Judiciary Committee on this matter and will provide questions for the fiscal year 1988 budget cycle. This recommendation has been open for 3 years. Since no action is intended, this recommendation should be closed.
|
| Administrative Office of the United States Courts | To eliminate duplication of the gathering of financial data and enhance the collection and enforcement of criminal fines, the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and the Attorney General should work together to develop a standard court financial report form that can be shared with U.S. attorneys' offices. |
Closed – Implemented
A Probation Division of the Administrative Office developed: (1) standard financial forms to be used by probation offices for court sentencing purposes; and (2) training programs in financial investigative techniques. Because other recommendations designed for improved dissemination of financial data have not been fully adopted, an accomplishment report is not warranted.
|
| Department of Justice | To eliminate duplication of the gathering of financial data and enhance the collection and enforcement of criminal fines, the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and the Attorney General should work together to develop, in conjunction with the Judicial Conference, guidance on permitting the probation offices to disseminate financial information to the U.S. attorneys' offices. |
Closed – Not Implemented
No action is intended because the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration decided not to change the present system of disseminating data. This recommendation has been open for years. Since no action is intended, this recommendation should be closed.
|
| Administrative Office of the United States Courts | To eliminate duplication of the gathering of financial data and enhance the collection and enforcement of criminal fines, the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and the Attorney General should work together to develop, in conjunction with the Judicial Conference, guidance on permitting the probation offices to disseminate financial information to the U.S. attorneys' offices. |
Closed – Not Implemented
The Judicial Conference Committee did not change the present system for sharing financial information with the U.S. Attorneys' Office. This recommendation has been open for 3 years. since no action is intended, this recommendation should be closed.
|
| Department of Justice | The Attorney General, working with the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, should develop mechanisms for establishing a central system for reporting, tracking, and accounting for all court-imposed criminal fines. If this is agreed upon, existing procedures should be revised to assign responsibility for performing these functions. |
Closed – Not Implemented
Collection responsibility between courts and Justice is still being debated by Congress. GAO will follow-up in future collection work.
|
| Administrative Office of the United States Courts | The Attorney General, working with the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, should develop mechanisms for establishing a central system for reporting, tracking, and accounting for all court-imposed criminal fines. If this is agreed upon, existing procedures should be revised to assign responsibility for performing these functions. |
Closed – Not Implemented
Collection responsibility between courts and Justice is still being debated by Congress. GAO will follow-up on this issue in future collection work.
|
| Department of Justice | The Attorney General and the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts should work together to establish a policy on when enforcement techniques should be used by the U.S. attorneys' offices and the probation offices. This policy should include time frames for accomplishing critical steps in the enforcement process. |
Closed – Not Implemented
Justice is developing guidelines on enforcing the collection of criminal fines. Once developed, guidelines will be reviewed by AO for concurrence. Reorganization plans within Justice have delayed the completion of the guidelines, and a decision in reorganization will not be made until March 1988. GAO should close this recommendation and follow-up on this issue in future collection work.
|
| Administrative Office of the United States Courts | The Attorney General and the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts should work together to establish a policy on when enforcement techniques should be used by the U.S. attorneys' offices and the probation offices. This policy should include time frames for accomplishing critical steps in the enforcement process. |
Closed – Not Implemented
Collection responsibilities between the courts and Justice is still being debated by Congress. GAO will follow-up on this issue in future collection work.
|
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Topics
Collection proceduresCrimesFines (penalties)Interagency relationsLaw enforcementMonitoringPaymentsReporting requirementsProbation officersJudges