Fines and Fees
As the criminal justice system has grown, it has become increasingly difficult to finance. One source of revenue that has become more popular is new fees and fines, imposed on people charged with crimes.
These fees and fines are most often imposed on those who can least afford them. The litany of court fees and surcharges on the sentencing sheet for a typical probationer in Georgia includes fees for: the Peace Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund, the Superior Court Clerks' Retirement Fund; the Sheriffs' Retirement Fund; the County Jail Fund; the Drug Abuse Treatment and Education Fund, the Crime Victims Emergency Fund, the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund, and the Driver Education and Training Fund. These fees are in addition to restitution or punitive fines.
When excessive fines and fees are imposed as part of a prison sentence, they make it harder for the person to reintegrate into society when he or she returns home. A person completing a sentence of imprisonment may leave prison with thousands of dollars in restitution, outstanding child support orders, unpaid fines, and additional fees.
Resources
| Title | Publication |
Date of Publication |
|---|---|---|
| SCHR Report Details Georgia Criminal Justice Reform Priorities | 10/21/2011 | |
| State Division of Child Support Services Sends Indigent Iraq War Veteran to Debtor’s Prison | 12/15/2010 | |
| Critics say private probation punishes poor unfairly | Augusta Chronicle | 11/15/2009 |
| SCHR Files Amicus Brief in Georgia Supreme Court Challenge to For-Profit Probation Companies and $50 Public Defender Fee | 09/24/2009 | |
| Justices Probe Right to Counsel; $50 fees paid by clients of public defenders, use of private probation also explored | Fulton County Daily Report | 09/23/2009 |
| SCHR Sheds Light on Corrupt Private Probation Companies with New Report | 10/17/2008 | |
| Poverty Keeps Woman Jailed | Atlanta Joural Constitution | 09/19/2006 |