Victims’ Fund May Take More From Inmates

SACRAMENTO —  California prison officials want to better serve crime victims by increasing the amount of restitution money the state collects from inmates, a plan welcomed by victims’ families but one that drew an angry response from relatives of convicts at a public hearing Tuesday.

About 96% of the state’s 160,000 inmates pay some sort of court-ordered compensation, amounting to roughly $9 million in an average year. The money is deducted from prisoners’ so-called trust accounts, which contain their wages and money sent by family members for purchases of food and other items from the prison canteen.

Under the Department of Corrections’ new proposal, the percentage of money impounded from the inmates’ accounts would more than double -- from 22% to 55%, an amount that includes a 10% bookkeeping fee.

A department spokeswoman said the increase was necessary to step up the collection of restitution funds. She said the state manages to collect only about 15% of the court-ordered compensation owed victims at any given time.

“This [increase] is part of a strategic plan to bring a higher number of restitution dollars to victims,” said the spokeswoman, Margot Bach. “We’re also hoping more inmates can pay off their restitution while incarcerated and leave prison without that burden on their shoulders.”

Crime victims applauded the plan, saying that the state needs to be more aggressive in its efforts to help them cover costs associated with crime, from funeral expenses to grief counseling.

“A lot of people go bankrupt from crime, so this money is very important,” said Maggie Elvey, a spokeswoman for Crime Victims United of California. “It’s also important for these guys in there to remember every month what they did and how they’re having to pay for the damage they caused.”

Relatives of inmates acknowledged the victims’ losses and said they do not dispute the concept of restitution. But they predicted that the proposed change would inflict the most harm on inmates’ relatives -- especially families struggling to make ends meet with their main wage-earner behind bars.

Brenda Salas is a mother of two children in Carson whose husband is serving a six-year term for assault with a deadly weapon. She said she sends him money for snacks to augment the prison meals, which she describes as skimpy, and to buy personal hygiene items.

“I’m the one supporting our whole family now, and this is going to hurt,” Salas said. “The canteen has high prices, but he needs these things to get by.”

Jackie Gray, a disabled Sacramento mother whose son is serving six years for burglary, said she sends him money for vitamins to help him stay healthy.

“I’m already pinching pennies,” said Gray, who uses a wheelchair. “By doing this, they are really just victimizing the families of the inmates.”

Bach said that a state law passed in 1992 mandated court-ordered compensation in all criminal cases. In some instances, compensation is ordered directly to the victim to cover specific losses. In others, fines are funneled to the state Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, which reimburses victims for expenses such as burials, mental health counseling and lost earnings.

Because of an increase in grant applications from victims, the compensation board is facing a deficit this year, spokeswoman Fran Clader said. She said an increase in the inmate deductions would “be a great help to us,” generating an additional $9.6 million annually.

Since 1992, the state has paid out almost $59 million to victims, Bach said, but that amount is well below the total owed. Moreover, many inmates wind up being paroled and never completing their restitution payments.

“By raising the amount we’re collecting from the trust account, we hope to do a better job for the victims,” she said.

Critics, however, noted that about two-thirds of the money that goes toward restitution comes from relatives sending donations to inmates’ accounts. One-third comes from prisoners’ wages, which average about 15 cents an hour.

“My son makes about $19 a month, and even in the lock-up, you can’t live a decent existence on $19 a month,” said the father of a San Quentin lifer who asked not to be named. “So we send him money to help him out, and now the Department of Corrections wants to take half of every dollar I send.

“I’m not the law-breaker, so should I be paying for this?”

Besides hearing testimony Tuesday, the department has received about 350 letters on the proposal, Bach said.