Audit Objective
Determine whether the Orange County (County) Probation Department (Department) officials enforced restitution orders, notified the court when a probationer violated the court order and disbursed victim restitution payments promptly and appropriately.
Key Findings
Department officials did not always properly enforce restitution orders, notify the court when a probationer violated the court order or disburse victim restitution payments promptly and appropriately. As a result, some victims may never receive the payments to which they are entitled.
- Officials did not always make reasonable efforts to locate victims promptly.
- 19 of the 29 restitution orders reviewed had uncollected payments totaling $19,319.
- Restitution payments totaling $3,440 were collected but not paid to 18 victims and none of the outstanding checks totaling $72,431 were properly followed up on as required.
In addition, officials did not maintain an accurate list of unsatisfied restitution orders, make undisbursed restitution payments or maintain sufficient undisbursed restitution records.
Key Recommendations
- Establish adequate policies and procedures for enforcing and monitoring restitution obligations.
- Provide meaningful oversight.
- Enforce and monitor restitution according to court orders and Department policies and procedures.
County officials disagreed with some of our findings and recommendations. Appendix B includes our comments on issues raised in the County’s response letter.