Audit Objective
Determine whether the Wyoming 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 appropriately. As a result, some victims may not be receiving payments to which they are entitled.
- Officials did not establish adequate policies and procedures to enforce and monitor restitution obligations.
- Six of the 24 restitution orders reviewed had uncollected restitution totaling $1,946.
- 25 outstanding restitution checks totaling $1,111 were not properly followed up on and officials did not always make reasonable efforts to locate victims promptly.
In addition, officials did not make undisbursed restitution payments to victims with the oldest unsatisfied restitution orders 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.