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Restitution Collections
in Nova Scotia:Making it Work for Victims
Lisa Warner – Restitution CoordinatorVictim Services, Court Services Division
Nova Scotia Department of JusticeApril 2015
Restitution orders are unique
- Codified cross-over between the criminal & civil courts.
Ordered by the criminal courts
[Federal sentencing jurisdiction]
But the mechanism of enforcement is civil process[Provincial administration of justice
jurisdiction]
Debt owed to victimRestitution Order Civil Judgment
The ‘grey’ zone*
Current Situation in NS
≈ 1000 victims*
awarded restitution annually
10781001 952
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Baseline 2011-12 2012-13
≈ $3.0 M in financial losses
$4.2
$2.9 $3.0
0.00.51.01.52.02.53.03.54.04.5
Baseline 2011-12 2012-13
$ m
illio
ns
Nu
mb
er o
f vi
ctim
s
Current Situation in NS
≈ $895,000.00 in losses/yr * Sample year 2011-2012
≈ 50% of ‘victims’ are private citizens
Current Situation in NS
Nearly ½ are stand alone orders
Most are lower $ value Orders
[I.e. 72% < $1000.00]
Current Situation in NS
Collection rates are low
% of monies collected (Total restitution due by March 31, 2013)
* Sample year 2011 – 2012
Example – Compliance metric
* Poor overall compliance for Stand alone ‘Rest’ Orders
% of orders with NO payments
- Assembling multiple repair quotes,
uninsured losses & medical expenses,
forensic audits, obtaining receipts
- Asset depreciation & replacement costs
Criminal
InvestigationCriminal
Prosecution
Sentence(May result in offender serving
custodial term and/or multi-year
community sentence order)
Civil
Enforcement
- Court attendances, delays &
adjournments
- Missed work time
- Child care
- Transportation costs
- Attendances at breach hearings
- Following up with Correctional facilities/
Probation Officers/Court staff/Parole Officers;
including out of province when offenders have
since relocated.
2007* $14,950.00
2008= $15,305.81
2009= $15,687.74
2012= $16,562.03
2014= $16,767.40
2012= $34,932.76
2014= $49,053.46
2009= $20,993.16
2008= $17,715.75
2007$14,950.00
+ Enforcement
Costs
& requirement to
independently
navigate civil
process
2007$14,950.00
2009= $15,983.88
2008= $15,458.30
2012= $17,570.30
2014= $18,892.31
Crime/financial
loss reported to
law enforcement
Restitution Due Date
Victim may incur additional expenses during criminal justice process associated with:
Victim assumes $ loss while state tries the accused Actual
Inflation
Lost Opportunity Costs: Term
Investment @ 3.4%
Carrying Costs: Credit Card @
18.5%
CASE STUDY – Victim of Fraud
Challenges with civil enforcement
• Passive enforcement is ineffective in affecting recoveries from most criminal-debtors.
• Costs to pursue the order are rarely justified (both systems costs & personal costs).
• Requires victims pay fees and navigate a complicated civil process.
• Doesn’t address the unique concerns and barriers faced by victim-creditors (I.e. secondary victimization, privacy concerns, etc.)
• Doesn’t result in timely payment to meet victims’ immediate financial needs.
Competing Creditors
• Statutory priority creditors
• ‘De facto’ priority creditors
• Better resourced judgment-creditors
• Other victim-creditors
A victim with a Restitution Order is an unsecured creditor.
Approximately 50-60% of criminal activity is committed by 15% of the population.
Victim as competing creditor
Victim ARestitution Order(Criminal Code)
Civil Judgment(NS Creditors Relief Act)
Victim B
Victim C
Victim CVictim BVictim A
CRA
MEP
So what CAN we do?
Use the collection mechanisms for victims that are available to
the state?*
(*Such as Motor Vehicle License suspensions, Federal Income Tax Set
Off Program, etc.)
E.g. Federal Income Tax Set-Off Program
- More cost-effective for collections of smaller value orders.
- More effective in recovering against criminal debtors than passive enforcement.
- Eliminates many of the process barriers experienced by victims through civil process (FOIPOP & offender privacy issues, victim privacy issues, secondary victimization, etc.)
- Helps give meaning and effect to federal criminal sentencing orders (I.e. Realities of Inter-jurisdictional offender and victim mobility)
- Assists with debtor-creditor priority issues.
- Collection practices are “Income tested”.
• The longer it takes for restitution to be paid, the greater the victims’ dissatisfaction with the criminal justice system,
• And the higher the costs to both the system and to the victim.
• Civil enforcement against the criminal offender demographic can be extremely complex.
• The costs to pursue recovery through civil process is rarely justified.
• Victims who are most in need of restitution repayment, are often the least well-positioned to pursue enforcement.
• We can’t address all of the process barriers victims experience with civil enforcement in Nova Scotia.
• ALL successful recoveries required a high degree of collaboration between criminal and civil justice partners.
Key Lessons Learned:
But restitution is not ‘crown’ debt
To affect recoveries through Income Tax Set-Off Program the debt must be:
1) Owed to the Crown, and
2) Levied pursuant to federal or provincial legislation
How?Restitution Debt ‘Designation’
Current Statutory Framework
Court-ordered restitution
‘Crown-designated’ Debt
Debt owed to victim
Victim assumes $ lossduring criminal justice
process
If offender doesn’t pay...
Public Authority attempts collections until no longer in the interests of justiceProvincial agm’t with
Canada Revenue Agency
(Income Tax Set-Off)
Victim must independently pursue civil enforcement
Only designated for the purpose of collections.
(I.e. No effect on Treasury/Consolidated
Revenue).
� Criminal order compliance
Court-ordered restitution
Victim assigns debtto designated “Public Authority”
Province collects $ through Public Authority on
victims’ behalf
Province disburses any $’s collected to victims
Possible Statutory/Regulatory Framework - ‘Public Authority’
Questions & Feedback?
Lisa WarnerRestitution CoordinatorNova Scotia Department of JusticeVictim Services, Court Services DivisionPO Box 71690 Hollis St, 4th FloorHalifax, NS B3J 3L9
Toll Free: 1.888.470.0773 T: 902.424.3211 F: 902.424.2056
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