Audit Objective
Determine whether the Suffolk 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 all victim restitution payments. As a result, some victims may never receive the payments to which they are entitled.
- Officials are unnecessarily holding nearly $1.3 million that should be used to pay victims with unsatisfied restitution orders. Some of this money was collected in the 1980’s.
- Officials did not establish adequate policies and procedures to enforce and monitor restitution orders.
- 22 of the 44 restitution orders we reviewed had uncollected payments totaling $47,831.
- 870 listed outstanding checks totaling $179,159 were not properly followed up on and/or recorded accurately.
In addition, officials did not maintain a complete and accurate list of unsatisfied restitution orders, distribute all available restitution, 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.