Crime victims to get restitution first

Crime victims in Schuylkill County are getting their due ahead of the perpetrators.

A program initiated by Clerk of Courts Maria T. Casey has the victims getting restitution owed them before criminals get their bail back.

In the past two years, $36,379 has gone toward restitution.

“I saw a need for the victims to get their restitution in a more timely manner,” Casey said.

Restitution is typically paid over a period of years through the Adult Probation Department.

“There is a rule of crime procedure, which I researched, which allows a victim to get restitution back when a defendant posts his or her own bail,” she said.

“If that happens, my office is allowed to invoke the rule and request that before the defendant gets his or her money, the victim gets his or her money back,” Casey said.

The defendant’s court costs and fines also must be paid before the bail money is refunded.

Casey figures the restitution payments will reach $50,000 in another month or so, and hopes to nudge that amount to $100,000 by year’s end.

“The rule had never been used before. I don’t know why,” she said. “It’s certainly important, so these victims can be made whole.”