One of my good friends got into trouble about a month or two ago. He stole some tools from someone he knew without asking permission and ended up keeping them for about a month until a family member who is a mutual friend of the two found them lying around and turned them in. He had his court date last week, and he's been ordered to perform 100 hours of community service over the course of ten days, ten hours each. This is a reasonable punishment for his actions, so I didn't think of it too much. However, he called me today all stressed out about his situation. Apparently the state requires him to pay $40 for each day he performs community service, which equals $400 when it's all said and done. He also needs $50 for all the gas required to get there and back each day. The problem, though, is that he is poor. He doesn't have any money to his name, and he lives with his disabled mom and his cousin who pays all the bills. He also has no drivers licence. He literally has no way to get there and back and he's having trouble finding rides and people that will help. Also, he owes all of this money by the end of the month, or else he'll have to enter into a payment plan where he has more time to pay, but will have $200 tacked on to the existing $400. As for me helping, I refuse to give him any money not only because I don't have tons of spare cash lying around, but also because I feel like it's wrong to spend it on someone who willingly broke the law by taking someone else's property, even if he is a good friend. The least I can do is drive him to the courthouse for his community service, but my schedule is packed with school and work, so I can't even do that. I know he broke the law and that he should face the consequences of his actions without me or anyone else enabling him or easing the pain financially or by driving him around, but I feel like I should at least do something to help. Perhaps it's the bleeding heart aspect of me, but I don't want to see him go into a downward spiral even more because he can't get to work or pay the fines. I'm lost as to how to help him. Anyone got advice?
Have him contact the court and explain the problem. Perhaps they can work with him by transferring his obligation to someplace nearer to where he lives. It's not as if they've never run into this sort of thing before. If nothing else then he will have at least discovered where he stands on available options.
I would be very wary of loaning him any money the odds are you would never see a dime of it. Tell them their best bet is to make an agreement he can pay, even if that costs him more in the long run, they need to learn to pay for their deeds. Maybe them getting a drivers licence and a job would be what is needed here so that they can pay back the money on their own.
I think he is conning you. I have trouble believing that the Court only gave him 10 days to do 100 hours and that they are charging him for doing community service.
I was never a thief but one hell raiser when I was young. Every person is responsible for their time earned. That's the rule, you do the crime you do the time. If he cannot perform the community service for any reason he can always do the time in the can. They'd probably give him 48 hrs locked up in a jail,( not a prison a jail) No offense Andros but I remember your consternation over your ticket,,,now this. Sorry, nothing has changed about reality. You do the crime you do the time. Stealing is not a good thing, let him learn that on his own. If you lose his friendship he never was a friend and if he doesn't learn his lesson he's lost to everyone. You want to drive I'm around that's cool. Anything more than that is not friendship it's just wrong.
Their is no financial fee to perform community service. If he continues to insist that their is then ask to see a copy of the court papers demanding that he pays the court for each day he works.
Unfortunately I am very close to someone who sounds just like this. He is enabled by family members that don't have the heart to see him "spiral". You need to let this person handle his own problems and learn to help himself. Its possible the last thing he needs is help from someone who makes good choices...... .
That sounds a bit suspicious. I don't know him, you be the judge of it, but it sounds like he's probably full of it. From what I know it's usually a fine OR community service. Of course I could be wrong but that sounds a little fishy. If he can't afford it, courts are usually lenient. When I was in traffic court a lady said she couldn't pay her fine, which was only like $150, so the court set up a payment system and she was to pay it over a period of months. I was kind of surprised by that level of leniency, but from my understanding courts are lenient when you inform them of the situation. Again, he's probably full of it, but if he's not the courts are lenient. But it sounds like he needs moral guidance more than he needs material aid. I'd strongly encourage him to see a priest. It doesn't matter if you're religious or not, I'm a Protestant and in the service I preferred talking to the Catholic priest over the Protestant Minister. The guy had a calming presence. I saw him a lot because I almost always was on the stern welcoming dignitaries with him, and we were usually there for an hour (hurry up and wait). It doesn't matter if you're religious or not, like I said I have fundamental issues with Catholicism, but priests/ministers are like free psychologists, except they actually are willing to give moral guidance. I would strongly encourage him to see a priest or minister, even if he isn't religious. If he's poor he probably can't afford a psychologists help anyway, but it sounds like he has deep personal/moral issues, and you're probably not who he needs that kind of guidance from. There's not much you can do about situations like this yourself.
If you trust him enough you could take out a loan, give him the $400, and have him pay it back later on with the interest the bank requires. You could also use this as an opportunity to get him on the right track. Give him the $400 as compensation for work done around the house. Have him clean your gutters, clean out your shed, maintain your garden, that sort of thing. [hr][/hr] Sometimes all someone needs is an opportunity.
I also don't believe he'd be required to work 10 hours a day for community service or that there would be any kind of payment required (though there could be a related fine). So, I suggest the best way you can help him is to review all the relevant documents and confirm what his actual responsibilities are. I'm sure there will be scope in the system for situations where someone literally can't fulfil community service requirements or pay fines, but that will require going through the correct procedures. In general, this kind of practical support is much more useful to someone honestly seeking help and has much less scope for abuse by someone who isn't.
Couple of questions: . Did he explain all this to the court? . Have you seen any documentation verifying what he's telling you? . Was he offered the option of short jail time? . Do you know if he's done anything like this before, or is it a first offense? If he didn't explain his situation at the time, and you've seen a court order, then perhaps you might try contacting your local prosecutor and requesting a hearing where you could accompany your friend, possibly along with his cousin, and maybe present his case better than he did. Also, I've never heard of anyone having to pay for doing community service, and I was a cop for 15 years. It's usually a fine and community service, sometimes with a period of supervision. If he's got any history, I wouldn't get involved-you might become his next victim. I don't know how old he is, but like someone else posted maybe now's a good time for him to take some responsibility. Enjoy!
Now that I think about it, the $400 he has to pay is probably the fine itself and not for the community service he has to perform. Either way, though, he's still screwed.
ya that seems hard to believe, it's kind of counter productive to charge someone to do community work...he could be pulling a scam, scammers have no issue pulling on even their own friends and family...or maybe the local justice system there is really messed up...
Be a generous friend. That means an occasional empathetic ear. The problem remains his, the costs and consequences remain his. You can share his self-imposed burden by listening to him bemoan his troubles, if you feel inclined, but don't share the troubles.
I would let him sink , really hit rock bottom. Have to learn from mistakes. If he doesnt pay, what usually happens is they throw you in jail for like 90 days and that wipes away your other obligations.
