Clerk of Courts Brian Munroe revealed a shocking statistic at the recent Bucks County Commissioners meeting – defendants owe local victims more than $80 million in unpaid restitution, some of which is three decades overdue.
This, he explained, is because most defendants aren’t in a financially stable position and quickly fall behind on court costs assigned by the judge.
“After about 90 days, if they continue to be delinquent, then they go to a collection agency. The problem with that is, they add 25 percent on top of it,” said Munroe.
In order to get victims their money and pull defendants out of long-term debt, Munroe launched in 2020 the Delinquency Recovery Program, or DRiP.
Inspired by a similar program in Westmoreland County started by former First Deputy of Montgomery County Mike Paston, DRiP is targeting unpaid fees from 1990, 1991 and 2005 as a start.
Taking a “pay what you can” approach, defendants are able to negotiate an affordable payment plan and receive reminders via text message. From June 2020 through January 2021, more than 750 payment plans were crafted, and over $140,000 in unpaid court costs was raked in.
According to Munroe, this amount is anticipated to double by the middle of this year. He expressed pride in all that DRiP has accomplished so far.
“Imagine being a victim back in 1990 owed who knows how much money, and all of a sudden 30 years later, you get a phone call from this county,” he said. “Most often, if you don’t receive a penny for 30 years, you’re going to write that off.”
To date, over 200 defendants have paid their debts in full, while the remainder continue to make monthly installments.
“There’s real emotion involved when somebody finally digs themself out of debt,” Munroe said. “The central focus of the program is offering them a way out of their debt, relieving them of the 25 percent in the added fee with respect to the collection agency, and basically just saying to them, ‘Listen, we know you’ve fell on hard times in the past. You owe $2,000. You couldn’t afford $50 a month, $100 a month. What can you afford?’ That response has been phenomenal.”
Munroe went on to say that DRiP in Bucks County is ahead of where he initially anticipated it to be at this point.
“Every month that goes by, we’re starting at a higher level because of those payment plans. That is monies that were just sitting there uncollected. Forgotten,” he said. “The older cases are the more difficult. It’s been a long time. It’s harder to track them down. As you get closer in time, the easier it will become to get these people on plans and collect the revenue.”
To contact defendants, the Clerk of Courts office mails a hearing notice. Since DRiP’s launch in June, over 2,600 letters have been sent, with a response rate of about 34 percent. Munroe said response rates are expected to improve as the program gradually shifts focus to more recent cases, and case participants become easier to locate.
Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia, chair of the Bucks County Commissioners, expressed her support of DRiP.
“I think it’s a win-win,” she said. “You’re helping to make victims whole and you’re offering offenders actually a chance at some dignity to get this paid.”
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
