NOROFLK, Va. — Norfolk's Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi announced that the Virginia Department of Taxation is responsible for collecting outstanding court debt effective July 1.
By state law, the debt carries a minimum annual interest of 17% when collected by the Department of Taxation, according to the Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's Office. Before now, the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office hired the services of a private collections firm that had an annual interest rate of 22.5%.
The Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's office said that the change in collection service is part of the office's promise of bolstering public safety while acknowledging and addressing poverty traps in the social justice system.
The announcement about the change in the collection process was made with Office of the Loundon County Commonwealth's Attorney, the Vera Institute of Justice and the Commonwealth Institute on Tuesday, according to the Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's Office.
The Commonwealth Institute reported that in 2019, Black Virginians bore the burden of 33% of all traffic and criminal fees assessed statewide despite making up 19% of the state population, according to the Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's Office. The Commonwealth Institute also said statewide court fees were assessed at an average of $82 per capita, but in courts serving cities with higher shares of Black residents the, average court fee is $147, and in courts serving cities with higher shares of impoverished people, the average court fee is $106.
The Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's Office said that trapping disadvantaged members of the community into cycles of crime and poverty risks everyone's safety.
