Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005 | 7:55 a.m.
Maybe size does matter.
The problems Las Vegas has collecting unpaid traffic fines apparently don't extend to Clark County's smaller cities.
In the wake of a consultant's report last month that said Las Vegas Justice Court has failed to collect about 50 percent of imposed fines over the last eight years, totaling $61 million, Justice Court officials in North Las Vegas and Henderson say their situations aren't nearly as bad.
Las Vegas has handled 205,582 traffic cases in the past eight years, while Henderson has had 42,960 -- but Henderson only has $757,000 in uncollected traffic fines over the same period, accounting for only 13.4 percent of the fines assessed, according to Linda McArthur, court administrator.
North Las Vegas Justice Court has $415,000 in uncollected fines from about 21,400 traffic fines in the same period, according to Terri March, court administrator. That's roughly 4 percent.
March said the problems in collecting fines are because "courts aren't created to create revenue, but to enforce justice."
Chief Judge James Bixler said Las Vegas Justice Court is searching for a collection agency to pursue unpaid fines, and he hopes to have a company under contract in the next 90 days.
Although McArthur and March said their respective courts also would soon be contracting a collection agency, neither believed that would be the final solution.
March said the bigger problem is there are "no teeth behind traffic fine enforcement."
"Unfortunately one of the best enforcement tools we have is issuing a warrant and sending those who fail to pay fines to jail. But the jails are full, and if a person pays $50, they can avoid serving any time," March said.
"To me the worst punishment is going to jail. If there is room at the inn, then maybe they'll go to jail and serve their time."
Clark County Public Defender Christy Craig disagrees with the idea that unpaid traffic tickets should lead to jail time.
"Given the jail overcrowding and the high cost of housing someone in the jail, it seems very foolish to incarcerate someone because they are too poor to pay a traffic ticket in full," Craig said.
"While it may be the norm in some local jurisdictions to incarcerate someone for 30 to 180 days for a failure to pay a speeding ticket, the wisest course would be to reserve the jail space for serious offenders."
As of Tuesday, the Clark County Detention Center had about 3,400 inmates -- even though the jail was built for 2,860.
Jail space is not the only issue -- the cost of detaining a traffic violator can easily surpass the amount of the fine. Jail officials have said it costs taxpayers $70 to house an inmate for one day.
Clark County Court Executive Officer Chuck Short is considering allowing people to pay fines in installments if they qualify for a financial hardship exemption. He said if a person doesn't meet the requirements of a hardship, community service would be an option.
Henderson Justice Court has slowly stopped allowing people to enter payment plans. Many of its judges have opted to impose community service hours, McArthur said.
March said payment plans are not allowed in North Las Vegas Justice Court.
Craig couldn't understand the reasoning behind not offering payment plans.
"The suggestion that the courts not accept installment payments for traffic tickets and not reduce traffic fines is naive and foolish," she said.
"Traffic tickets can often run $500 to several thousand dollars. Without the use of installment payments, most people would be unable to pay such a large fine in full.
"Without the ability to use installment payments or reduction of fine, the only alternative for the courts would be to place people who cannot afford to pay their traffic tickets in full in jail," Craig said.
March said because the majority of traffic violators in North Las Vegas have low incomes, they are more apt to perform community service or serve jail time than pay a fine.
Another factor making traffic fine collection more difficult is keeping tabs on out-of-state residents who get ticketed, drive home and never pay the fine.
March said if a driver from California commits a traffic violation and gets ticketed, it will not be forwarded to California law enforcement because only more serious traffic crimes such as driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter are shared in the Interstate Driver's License Compact.
The compact unites the records of 45 states' Department of Motor Vehicles records to ensure that drivers aren't simply breaking traffic laws in one state and speeding away to avoid the law upon returning to their home state.
Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee and Wisconsin are the only states that aren't a part of the compact.
Matt Pordum can be reached at 474-7406 or at [email protected].
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