She admits that the generally law abiding citizen in trouble with a traffic violation is the least problematic to the department. The petty misdemeanors and the misdemeanors are where the court makes most of their money. Somebody who fails to yield and gets into a car accident generally they re a good person who just made a mistake. And they re usually able to pay, said Jerde. But Gudmundson points out that the people who most need to be held accountable are being let out of their responsibilities.
Judges go out of their way to make it easy.
Then, the public pays again as police chase down those wanted on warrants because they owe fines. It is constant. We are on the road every single day picking up people, said Gudmundson. As the crimes get tougher, so does the job to collect the fines, fees, surcharges and restitution charges due. When the offender is doing time, owes fines, and decides to work while in prison, the probation department can take some of their wages and apply it toward restitution.