Court Collection Unit

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2009

Collin County’s Court Collection Unit began operational in April 2007 for all six County Courts at Law. In 2005, Senate bill 1863 mandated all counties with population 250,000 or larger to develop a stricter collection plan for criminal court costs and fines in misdemeanor courts. The bill was designed to require counties to concentrate on increasing revenue from criminal court costs and fines, which would ultimately provide more funding to the state and respective counties. A stricter collection program would also have indirect advantages, such as upholding justice by enforcing and monitoring all court ordered payments. Collin County not only met the critical components of the collection model set forth by the state’s Office of Court Administration, but Collin County exceeded expectations as well by streamlining the collection process by way of innovative technology and software use, cutting the term of payment agreements by almost 30 months, and increasing collections by as much as 40%.