By Daily Press staff
In an effort to combat the negative impact of bad checks on the local economy, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office reorganized the Bad Check Restitution Program in 1999 to provide better service to recipients of bad checks and discourage bad check writers from repeating their offense.
This has been accomplished without cost to county taxpayers because the district attorney’s office has partnered with American Corrective Counseling Services to create a unique program that combines the resources of both the public and private sectors. Bad check victims benefit because they can report checks directly to the district attorney and have what rightfully belongs to them paid back through the program. In addition, bad check writers can avoid prosecution if they pay restitution and attend a special eight-hour intervention class. If a failed case is determined to be prosecutable, the local police will provide further investigation.
From its reorganization in September 1999 through February 2003, the Bad Check Restitution Program has recovered more than $9 million in restitution for check victims and diverted more than 30,000 bad check writers from further participation in the criminal justice system.
Bad checks plague businesses all over L.A. County and the problem is growing. In fact, at the national level, over 1.2 million checks bounce every day. While most checks clear the bank eventually, many do not and the cost to merchants in terms of time, money and hassle spent tracking down bad check writers is enormous. Consumers are hit hard too because banks charge “bounced-check” fees. According to the Consumer Federation of America, returned check fees cost up to $30 or more and banks make more than $6.2 billion a year in profit from them. While banks claim returned check fees are used only to deter people from writing bad checks, they are actually a huge source of revenue.
To learn more about the Bad Check Restitution Program, please call (800) 842- 0733 or visit http://da.co.la.ca.us/badcheck.htm. Bad Check Complaint Forms and brochures are available at all law enforcement agencies throughout Los Angeles County.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 5, 2003. Read the original PDF.