L.A. CONVICTIONS MAY CARRY A FEE.

Byline: RICK ORLOV Staff Writer

As if it isn't painful enough to be charged with a misdemeanor, Los Angeles officials are looking to charge an $80 processing fee to those convicted of a crime.

The City Council's Budget and Finance Committee recommended Monday launching a yearlong pilot program to determine how much revenue could be generated by the arrest and booking fee.

Officials have estimated the city could collect anywhere from $18,000 to $200,000 under the program, with the fee to be assessed against some 30,000 people a year who are arrested and convicted of misdemeanors. Some officials expressed concern, however, that the program would cost more than that to administer.

In addition to charging individuals arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department, the city would seek to charge other jurisdictions that send suspects through the city jail system.

Under the proposal, city officials would talk with the Airport and Harbor departments and the Los Angeles Unified School District about having their jursidictions pay $66 for each person booked into an LAPD jail, plus $276 to keep those suspects in custody.

City officials said the three agencies account for about 2,300 arrests each year. The biggest outside source of arrests is the California Highway Patrol, with about 8,000 a year. However, the city is prohibited from charging a fee to that state agency.

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

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