Restitution, Fine and Supervision Fee Collection

The Suffolk County Probation Department, in accordance with Criminal Procedure Law and Penal Law, is responsible for the collection and disbursement of court ordered restitution. County Court may also direct the Probation Department to collect court ordered fines. In addition, persons sentenced to probation supervision for a DWI related offense will be subject to a monthly supervision fee.

The authority to impose restitution as a Condition of Probation can be found in Penal Law §65.10 (2), which states that the court shall consider restitution as a condition of sentence and may require the defendant to “make restitution of the fruits of his or her offense … for the actual out-of-pocket loss caused thereby.” Typically, at the time of sentencing, the court will have at its disposal information regarding the financial loss suffered by the victim as a result of the defendant’s actions, and will use that information when establishing the amount of restitution to be ordered and the time frame for payment. Restitution payments are to be made directly to the Probation Department and the department disburses the restitution accordingly.

In addition to collection of restitution for crime victims, Probation collects fees imposed by the Suffolk County Legislature for Probation investigations, supervision, drug-testing, and electronic monitoring. These fees go directly to County revenue.

Administrative Fees

All administrative fees collected by the Suffolk County Probation are revenue for Suffolk County. The fees are established and set by county resolution.

The fees:

• DWI Supervision fee $30 per month
• Cost of supervision fee $70 per month (non DWI cases)
• Lab testing (drug/alcohol) $15 per urine test
• Pre-Sentence Investigation fee $450 each
• GPS/SCRAM/ Electronic Monitoring $5 daily
• Abel sex offender screening $5 per screen (the offender pays $104- $99 goes to Abel, $5 to Probation)

If a defendant does not pay all of their fees by the end of the probation term the case is sent to a collection agency.

For any Probationer with extenuating circumstances regarding payment of fees contact the Department at 631-852-4141.

Restitution:

Restitution is awarded to a victim of crime that has suffered a monetary loss. In Suffolk County we have a 5% surcharge added to the amount of restitution. The 5% collected is considered revenue for Suffolk County, as it defrays the criminal justice administrative expenses.

There are several ways that restitution is ordered.

Restitution as a condition of probation:

As part of the defendant’s probation sentence restitution, the defendant must pay the probation department the amount of restitution due to the victim plus the 5% within the time frame dictated in the conditions. This is most often a monthly payment. The offenders’ probation officer monitors the defendant’s compliance with the payment plan.

Conditional Discharge:

When restitution is ordered as part of a conditional discharge, the defendant must pay the specified amount plus a 5% surcharge within 1 yr. If the defendant pays the specified restitution amount within the time frame, the case is successfully completed. If there is still a balance due after 11 months a violation is sent to the Judge overseeing the case and a new court date is set.

Judgment Only:

Restitution is awarded to a victim, but the court does not make restitution a condition of probation. No one monitors payments. Suffolk County Probation restitution and fees unit sends letters out and accepts payments on these accounts. This generally occurs when the person goes to jail and does not receive a probation sentence or if the court deems the person simply cannot pay the judgment during the probation term.