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New fees equal to penalties in all criminal offenses proposed
A newly-prefiled bill seeks to double the amount one has to pay if convicted of any criminal offense, a proposal that Rep. Joseph Palacios (R-Saipan) hopes will help deter criminal activities and provide additional funding for police training, overtime pay, and salaries of police officers.
Palacios’ bill assesses a fee “in an amount equal to the fine imposed” on convicted persons.
Half of all funds deposited into the Judicial Building Fund will now be deposited into a special fund for the Department of Public Safety to help supplement the department’s training, overtime, and salaries of its police officers.
For example, if one is found guilty of drunk driving, the amount that person will have to pay will be doubled-the existing fine will have an equal amount as a proposed fee, Palacios said.
“The main purpose is to save lives and help prevent crimes. The second purpose is to let people using government-provided services to help pay for those same services,” he told Saipan Tribune on Friday.
Some residents interviewed on Saturday expressed support for the proposal.
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
Sol San Nicolas, 54, said that doubling the amount one has to pay in fine or fee for drunk driving, for example, will force more people to “obey the law.”
“If you double the fine or fee, maybe more people will obey laws including traffic laws. They won’t drive when they’re drunk, they won’t beat [the] red light,” she said.
But San Nicolas said it is not enough that the government has these laws or rules in place; there has to be strict implementation.
Albina Lizama, 69, of Capital Hill, as well as Gary C. Tudela, separately agreed that increasing penalty fines or fees could help prevent crimes.
