Making teen criminals pay up in Benton County
BENTON COUNTY -- Benton County is getting tough on teen criminals who refuse to pay their court bills.
All is not quiet when Benton County wants its money back. Each Tuesday, hundreds of people line the halls of the Benton County Justice Center. Joesph Webb is one of them. He comes the justice center to pay back his court-ordered fines; something that's taken a long time to do.
"It's hard for work," Webb says of having to pay back his fines. "I just want to get this in my past."
At least he's making an effort. Each year, thousands of other juveniles fail to pay their court fines at all. To recoup that lost money, Benton County is now making juveniles pay $100 as soon as those defendants become 18. The reasons are simple: with a mandatory fine, the county will be able to get back some of the massive dollars it has lost.
Last year, Benton County lost $3 million because people didn't pay their fines. It's not only a huge burden on the courts, but a huge frustration for crime victims.
County leaders tell Action News upwards of $200,000 could be gained from the mandatory fines, all while folks like Webb do the right thing.
"If everybody would just pay up, there wouldn't be a demand for extra money that's coming out of everybody's pocket," he tells KEPR.
Benton County workers tell Action News the $100 fee is modeled after a program in Spokane.
The new rules only affect people who became adults after their sentence.
All is not quiet when Benton County wants its money back. Each Tuesday, hundreds of people line the halls of the Benton County Justice Center. Joesph Webb is one of them. He comes the justice center to pay back his court-ordered fines; something that's taken a long time to do.
"It's hard for work," Webb says of having to pay back his fines. "I just want to get this in my past."
At least he's making an effort. Each year, thousands of other juveniles fail to pay their court fines at all. To recoup that lost money, Benton County is now making juveniles pay $100 as soon as those defendants become 18. The reasons are simple: with a mandatory fine, the county will be able to get back some of the massive dollars it has lost.
Last year, Benton County lost $3 million because people didn't pay their fines. It's not only a huge burden on the courts, but a huge frustration for crime victims.
County leaders tell Action News upwards of $200,000 could be gained from the mandatory fines, all while folks like Webb do the right thing.
"If everybody would just pay up, there wouldn't be a demand for extra money that's coming out of everybody's pocket," he tells KEPR.
Benton County workers tell Action News the $100 fee is modeled after a program in Spokane.
The new rules only affect people who became adults after their sentence.
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