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