| Policy Statement 2 |
Coordinate—and ideally integrate—distinct agencies' policies, procedures, and information systems so that the fines, fees, surcharges, and restitution orders of each person sentenced to prison or jail are consolidated to improve collection rates, where possible, and child support and restitution are prioritized appropriately. |
| Recommendation A |
Calculate, at the time of sentencing, the sum of the restitution, fines, fees, and other surcharges that the person should be assessed.1 |
To hold people accountable and to ensure that they can and will meet the financial obligations assessed at the time of sentencing, judges should determine one sum that an individual should pay as a sanction for his or her crime(s). Judges can then work backward to divide the sum among its intended recipients, including victims (in the form of restitution) and criminal justice agencies (in the form of fines, fees, and surcharges).
Sentencing Statute, Washington State
Washington State's sentencing statute (Rev. Code 9.94A.760) requires that judges, at the time of sentencing or during a subsequent order, designate the total amount of a legal financial obligation and separate this amount into segments toward the payment of restitution, costs, fines, and other assessments. Judges are also required to consider the individual's assets, earnings, and total potential debt when determining the full financial sanction.
To gather the information needed to determine the total amount of the sanction, court personnel should list all of the fines, fees, and restitution requirements that apply in each case as per state or local statute. In addition, the court should gather documentation from the individual of his or her past, present, and future earnings, assets, debts, job skills, educational level, health issues, and disabilities.
With this information, and taking the above recommendations into account, judges should determine what would be an appropriate sum and include payment of this sum as one of the conditions of the sentence or condition of release.
In cases where an individual is able to work but is unemployed and has little or no assets, the judge should assume that the individual will earn the prevailing minimum wage, unless the evidence suggests otherwise. The same standard should apply in cases where the criminal conviction makes it unlikely that the individual will return to his or her earning level prior to incarceration.
1 Child support is determined by federal standards, is not a criminal sanction, and cannot be determined as part of this sum.