SPRINGDALE -- With checks becoming a more infrequent form of payment, prosecution programs for "hot" checks are changing.
People are now using fewer checks, instead tending to use debit cards, said Lisa Ray, president and chief executive officer of Arvest in Springdale. This is part of why the number of hot checks has declined.
Local grocery stores are also seeing fewer hot checks. Kim Eskew, president and chief operating officer for Harps, said hot checks at Harps stores are down 14 percent from last year. More people are using credit and debit cards, while the number of people using cash has remained steady, he said.
Many hot checks happen because people aren't aware of how much money they have in the bank, Eskew said. They might also have other outstanding checks.
Prosecutors and attorneys in Springdale, Fayetteville and Benton County have all seen a decline in hot checks. This trend is nationwide, said Casey Jones, Fayetteville prosecutor.
The number of hot checks taken to the Springdale city attorney's office for collection has steadily dropped since 2011, according to the office's 2014 annual report. The office saw 1,263 hot checks in 2011, 979 in 2012, 849 in 2013 and 443 in 2014.
Ernest Cate, Springdale city attorney, has changed some duties for the office's hot checks coordinator because of the decline. The employee now also monitors theft cases to make sure offenders are ordered to pay victim restitution and attend and complete "theft school." In addition, the employee makes sure code offenders are ordered to pay restitution to the city when it has to clean up their properties.
Cate wrote in an email that the number of shoplifting cases handled by the office has nearly doubled since the new Wal-Mart opened at 4870 Elm Springs Road. The number of code enforcement cases has also increased dramatically since the city created the Community Engagement Division.
The name of Springdale's Hot Check Division was changed this year to Hot Check/Victim Restitution Division, according to the annual report.
Jones said that in 1992 when he became city prosecutor, hot checks were a large part of his office's work. Then the numbers began to steadily decline, with officials in the city seeing 9,300 hot checks in 2003 and 520 in 2014.
"Now I don't even think about them," he said.
The declining numbers meant Jones changed some positions and duties, he said. There was once a hot check administrator with a full-time staff member. In the early 2000s, the position changed to an overall office manager.
Matt Durrett, fourth judicial district prosecuting attorney, said he's also seen fewer hot checks. The district includes Washington and Madison counties.
He didn't, however, have any numbers readily available.
The hot check restitution coordinator oversees the Washington County Restitution Division, Durrett said. The division has other staff members as well, and it has always been organized in this manner.
There is still plenty of restitution work for the staff because a downturn in hot checks usually means an upturn in other crimes, Durrett said. He said he's seen more theft and debit card fraud while hot checks have been declining.
The Benton County prosecutor's office has been collecting money for and prosecuting most of the hot checks in Bentonville for four to five years and for Rogers since last year, said Nathan Smith, Benton County prosecuting attorney.
The county collects fees on hot checks, which pay for the hot check coordinator position, Smith said. He said he keeps track of the fee revenue rather than the number of hot checks. Fee revenue was $47,136 in 2012, $34,145 in 2013 and $26,367 in 2014.
Extra duties have been added to the hot check coordinator's workload as the number of hot checks have declined, Smith said. For example, that employee is also a receptionist and has clerical and bookkeeping duties.
"We've already given her all the extra jobs I'm comfortable giving her," he said.
Smith said he doesn't think fees from hot checks will cover that employee's salary this year. He said he's already spoken to the Benton County Quorum Court about the issue, and justices of the peace will need to approve covering the rest of her salary through the county budget. He is requesting that it be included in the county budget during the next budget session.
"People have to have a place where they can bring these checks," he said. "We're a long ways off from having no hot checks."
Metro on 03/23/2015