Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 18, 1993 TAG: 9307190253
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Sheila Graybill, a court worker who helps run the program, has heard every excuse imaginable from people who drive with suspended licenses.
But instead of dwelling on the various reasons why people drive illegally, Graybill attempts to get them back on the road legally.
Roanoke's program, the first of its kind in the state, focuses mostly on first-time offenders who have their licenses suspended because they failed to pay fines from an earlier traffic conviction.
Suspended drivers are given a 30-day grace period to pay their fines, with the option of working their debts off through community service - all under the close supervision of the Court-Community Corrections Program.
The program offers a sit-down, one-on-one encounter with suspended drivers who might otherwise receive just a minute or two of attention from an overworked judge.
"It's efficient in that we're freeing the courts to spend more time with the more serious cases, while we can accomplish the same thing while being more thorough," said Jim Phipps, director of the Court-Community Corrections Program.
In its first two years of operation, the program has a compliance rate of about 60 percent. It has collected more than $318,000 in fines and provided about 2,000 hours of labor for city work crews.
Results like that get attention; a group of Fairfax County judges and court workers recently came to Roanoke for some tips on how to emulate the program.
Phipps and Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell are credited with starting the program in 1990, with the realization that many suspended drivers' financial irresponsibility doesn't necessarily mean they're dangers on the road.
"Most of these people have a problem with unpaid fines for essentially petty offenses," Roanoke General District Judge Julian Raney said.
Before the program started, Raney said, "We were spinning our wheels because we would impose fines and the people would just owe that much more money and continue to drive."
Now, people who come to court on a charge of driving on a suspended license are sent to a room where either Graybill or Carrie Berkeley is waiting with information, advice and a warning.
"We make them aware that they are confronted with a serious offense, but they have the power to control it themselves," Graybill said.
Offenders are given 30 days to pay their fines, which can range from $100 to more than $800. If they can't afford to pay, they are given the option of working for grounds crews at the city Parks and Recreation Department or doing odd jobs at the city garage.
The labor is counted at $5 an hour for as long as it takes to pay off the fine.
Offenders then go back to court. If their fines have been satisfied, the charge is dismissed and, in most cases, their licenses are restored.
Of 3,876 people referred to the program so far, 1,794 completed it successfully. Those who failed were sent back to court to face more fines or a jail sentence.
Some types of offenders - drunk drivers, people who have failed to complete the program earlier, those driving on revoked licenses, and those with unusually large fines - are not eligible for the program.
The ones who stay with Graybill have all sorts of explanations for why they drove: to get to and from work, because their friend was too drunk, because a family member was gravely ill and had to get to a hospital.
Graybill listens to them all, then quickly shifts the subject to paying off the fines.
"I use the term `baby-sit' lightly," she said. "But that's what we actually have to do in some cases."
by CNB