Senate Bill 5, signed into law earlier this week, amends Alaska law regarding court-ordered restitution by requiring offenders to pay back their victims for loss of income and the market value of stolen property, but attorneys contend the change will have little affect on collecting the dues.
Gov. Bill Walker signed the bill sponsored by Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, on Tuesday.
Micciche said he sponsored the bill due to a rash of drug-related burglaries in Southcentral.
SB 5 amends state laws to define loss of income as the total loss a business or person may experience due to not having stolen property on hand for the amount of time spent replacing it and it allows courts to consider the market value of the property when the crime occurred.
The change in law will address rising property theft crimes statewide and "help crime victims become whole again," Micciche said.
However, problems exist in the collection of restitution. Taylor Winston, director of the Alaska Office of Victims' Rights, said Alaskans come to her office seeking help to get what is owed.
"A lot of times we never see them back, and I think they just give up, frankly," Winston said. "They've already gone through the court process, then they wait for something to materialize but it never happens."
Private defense attorney Keri Brady said imprisonment substantially diminishes people's ability to pay restitution.
"We give people a scarlet letter that says, 'You're unreliable and not trusted to be in society, but go get a job and pay this back,' " Brady said. "A lot of times it's completely unrealistic."
Marcelle McDannel, a criminal defense lawyer, echoed that viewpoint.
"I think certainly no one would argue that crime victims don't deserve to be fully compensated," McDannel said. "The problem is they're seeking it from people who don't have the funds … it is not necessarily a flaw in the statute."
Legislative researchers examined the effectiveness of restitution laws in a brief back in July 2013 at the request of Sen. Fred Dyson.
Problems exist "due in part to the challenges inherent in collecting payment from offenders who have limited or no financial resources because they may be incarcerated or have limited employment opportunities," the brief says.
The portion of defendants who fulfill their restitution obligations is unknown, officials said.
Winston said an attorney in the victims' rights office went to a national conference at which she attended a lecture on restitution payments. She learned, Winston said, about 8 to 10 percent of victims get their awarded money.
The attorney also told Winston that the statistic is in line with what she has experienced during her 13 years at the office.
But Alaska is more capable of collecting restitution than Outside states, said Brady. The Department of Law's Collection Unit, primarily responsible for collecting court-ordered restitution, may garnish offenders' Permanent Fund dividends.
A PFD generally cannot be collected the year a crime occurs, because inmates lose their ability to get the yearly check, she said.
Brady contended there are people who have once-in-a-lifetime dealings with the court system and repeat offenders. So, although the PFD could mean repayment for some victims with the passage of years, recidivism stifles collecting all the restitution ordered.
Two out of three former prisoners in Alaska return to prison within the first three years following their release, most returning within the first six months, according to the state's recidivism reduction work group.
Brady said she is encouraged by the addition of property valuation in the law. People are often trying to get compensation for decades-old items, she said.
Micciche disagreed with the potential ineffectiveness of the bill. That's the wrong way of looking at it, he said.
"People's circumstances change over time," he said. "They may be completely indigent today, but their circumstances could change tomorrow. Paying back for the harm they've done is good, both for the individual and for the person they harmed. It addresses restorative justice."