Court Compliance Program

About the Program

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

Year: 2018

The Clerk & Comptroller, Palm Beach County has developed an innovative program that focuses on compliance of court ordered financial obligations; providing the defendant with multi-level options to satisfy court obligations. The Court Compliance Program (CCP) provides offenders with payment alternatives to satisfy court obligations based on their stage of involvement in the court system. The program is designed to assist offenders who cannot, or do not pay court ordered financial obligations timely. This results in a multitude of consequences that compound over time, including driver’s license suspension. The CCP’s varied approach includes flexible payment opportunities, negotiation of criminal judgments, amnesty programs, warrant dismissals and continuous improvement based on verifiable data. The goal of the program is keeping our residents, working, driving and moving forward with their lives. The benefits not only to the defendant but the community are irrefutable. Palm Beach County has increased the volume of offenders establishing a structured payment plan to 86 percent, the satisfaction of criminal judgments via negotiation by 86 percent. The most significant indicator in determining the success of any compliance program is the impact of the program on driver’s license suspensions. We have reduced the volume of driver’s license suspensions for failure to pay financial obligations for Misdemeanor and Felony cases by 79 percent since 2014. The Clerk & Comptroller, Palm Beach County has worked diligently over the last several years by dedicating scarce resources, despite severe budget constraints, in order to provide the citizens of Palm Beach County with a much needed compliance program. The commitment put forth has resulted in a 79 percent reduction in driver’s license suspensions, thus realizing one of the key goals of the program.