Show UNPAID FINES IN S. S L L. L COURT TOTAL Sums Date Back To Jan 1940 Top Account Traffic and other offenders under police court sentences are in hock to Salt Lake municipal municipal municipal pal government and the taxpayers to the tune of more than as of the latest accounting The sums date back as far as January 1940 with individual amounts reaching as high as The city hopes to collect some of the money but has no hopes of getting it all This was gleaned Wednesday from a report by City Auditor L L. L E. E Holley Honey on an auditing of police court records up to last March 23 As of that date Mr Holley reported reported reported re re- re- re ported a total of was owing the city All however was not owing as result of failure to clear old cases of it being being being be be- ing in pending cases those in which stays of execution had been allowed and nd nd in which defendants are permitted to pay fines in in in- But the remainder of the total was in outstanding unpaid unpaid unpaid un un- un- un paid commitments reaching back to January 1940 Police Chief Reed E. E said he does not intend to write the sums off the books and that efforts will vill be made to collect the theold theold theold old fines wherever possible Responsibility for clearing commitments commitments com corn issued by the court rests Continued on Pie Pice Ie Twenty Column Two Unpaid Fines in Police Court Since Jan 1940 Hit Continued from Pa Page Pace e One with the police department with radio car patrolmen and other officers assigned to to the duty of serving def defendants However he added many cases never will b be cleared by reason of the defendants leaving the city moving from old addresses or going going going go go- ing into military service He indicated that although many of the sums are regarded as he would prefer tomake tomake to tomake make an effort at collection rather than write them off Lists Sums Owed Mr Holley's report listed the following sums owing as a result I of partial payments or no payments payments payments pay pay- ments at all on fines assessed Outstanding unpaid active commitment commitment commitment com com- file as as' as of March 23 outstanding unpaid commitments commitments commitments com com- issued in 1941 outstanding unpaid commitments issued in 1940 pending cases as of March 23 1942 I Mr Holley's report listing names of hundreds of defendants indicated that In about half the cases no payments on fines had been made at all Sums owing range from up to In the latter instance a defendant was fined the maximum In police court and paid only 75 He has had owed the balance since S September 1941 No Extra Help Chief indicated he has no plans to hire extra workers inan inan in inan an effort to collect outstanding sums and that as in the past the work will be handled by personnel of the police records bureau and the radio and traffic division Officials in the records bureau said that efforts will not be dropped to collect fines owing on commitments issued since August 1941 when the was bureau bureau was formed and a new organization created for follow through on court commitments commitments commitments com com- comI I and warrants Th The commitments all are on file in the records bureau and will be given to officers with instructions to find the defendants if possible However it was explained about the only chance of collecting on those issued previous to last August will be when defendants are arrested in new cases The bureau has a file of old cases against which all new arrests are checked making it possible to catch up with persons who have old cases pending Bureau officials said officers have plenty of work in in serving commitments in current cases under under under un un- der a new system of follow through Every traffic arrest ticket for a moving violation which is not returned returned returned re re- re- re turned by a defendant within 10 30 days is subjected to follow through first by a letter to the defendant then by a a. warrant if the letter does not bring response within 48 hours Bureau said that about third one-third of moving violation tickets tickets tickets tick tick- ets are returned and booked by defendants and that the rest must be disposed of by serving court orders |