The Mobile County District Attorney’s Office maintains a dedicated unit, known as the District Attorney’s Restitution Recovery Team, or DART, tasked with monitoring, tracking and collecting restitution that convicted offenders owe to crime victims. The team is one of two recovery divisions within the DA’s office that specialize in collecting unpaid funds from defendants, the other being the District Attorney’s Municipal Recovery Unit.
DART handles cases referred to the office by Mobile County’s District and Circuit Courts whenever a defendant fails to pay court-ordered restitution to the clerk of the court within the time period the court specified. Beyond restitution, DART is also responsible for collecting unpaid court costs and fines, as well as unpaid traffic tickets issued by county and state law enforcement, including sheriff’s deputies and state troopers.
Traffic tickets issued specifically by City of Mobile police officers fall outside DART’s jurisdiction. Those cases are instead handled by Mobile Municipal Court, reachable at (251) 208-7055, or by the DA’s Municipal Recovery Unit at (251) 574-5510.
Resources for Crime Victims
For victims of crime who were awarded restitution as part of a case but are not receiving payment, the DA’s office directs them to contact DART at (251) 574-5515 or to reach out to DART Supervisor Linda Watson directly. The office also maintains a list of offenders with active warrants tied to unpaid restitution, court costs or fines, underscoring the enforcement side of the team’s work alongside its collection efforts.
Crime victims involved in a pending criminal matter can also contact the DA’s Victim Services Officers for assistance at (251) 574-8400. The office additionally points victims to the National Center for Victims of Crime for further information about restitution generally.
How to Make a Payment
Defendants who owe restitution and want to discuss payment arrangements are asked to call DART at (251) 574-5515. Payments can be made toward both Circuit Court and District Court cases, covering criminal and traffic matters alike.
Those paying by mail should send payments to the appropriate clerk’s office depending on the type of case. For District Court criminal matters, payments go to the District Court Clerk’s Office, Attn: District Criminal, 205 Government St., RM 338, Mobile, AL 36644. For Circuit Court criminal matters, payments go to the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office, Attn: Circuit Criminal, 205 Government St., RM C927, Mobile, AL 36644.
Payments can also be made in person at the Mobile Government Plaza, 205 Government St., North Tower, with the District Clerk located on the third floor and Circuit Court on the ninth floor. The office asks that all correspondence include the relevant case number or ticket number. Cash should never be sent through the mail — only money orders or certified checks are accepted, and personal checks will be returned unprocessed.
DART’s work, alongside the Municipal Recovery Unit, reflects an ongoing effort by the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office to ensure court-ordered financial obligations, including restitution owed directly to crime victims, are actually collected rather than left unpaid.