Restitution comes in many forms - one of which is to compensate the responding agencies for their time and materials. If you disagree with having to pay the ATF or the police, then take it up with the California legislature as THEY have decided who has a right to compensation when a party is convicted.

If you do not think an appropriate review was made of your financial situation, you might consider hiring an attorney to review the matter. If you cannot afford an attorney, you are in a pretty bad place and you might have to wait until your court date to plead your case.

As for when probation started, it is my understanding that it begins when you end custody ... but since I am not a probation officer, I really don't know for sure. In any event, the terms of your sentence are not complete until you make the appropriate payments as ordered by the court because of your conviction. If you do not make the payments or other arranged compensation, then you could find yourself back in custody ... depending on the details of who you owe money to. There ARE some forms of payments that they cannot incarcerate you for not paying, and it really depends on what statute they are authorizing the restitution under.


- Carl