Our Juvenile probation department has come to me asking whether or not crimestopper fess can be imposed on: (1) a juvenile adjudication and disposition through court; and (2) on a DPA case.

Does anyone have any experience dealing with this or charge a similar fee.

Robert DuBoise
Assistant District Attorney
Parker County

I think not. CCP Art. 42.12 Sec. 11 (a)(21) provides authority for the payment of a crimestoppers fee as a condition of community supervision in county or district court. I do not think the Family Code has an equivalent provision for juvenile cases.

I agree with Ken. The provisions in Art. 42 in the Code of Criminal procedure are for adults and don't cover juveniles. Here in Houston, we are facing requests from police agency labs to collect "restitution" reimbursement for the cost of the lab analysis of substances submitted by the police. The applicable provisions for that are in Art. 42.12, Sec.11(1)(19) of the CCP. This is also not applicable in Juvenile cases.

The restitution provisions in the juvenile justice code are the provisions in Sec. 54.041(b) which allows the juvenile court to order a juvenile or parent to pay restitution after an adjudication "...arising from the commission of an offense in which property damage or personal injury occurred...". In 2001 the legislature added Sec. 54.o48 which negated the necessity of pleading for restitution in the petition, but did not expand the scope of the restitution to include anything beyond "property damage or personal injury" as articulated in 54.041.