Finding Ways not to Pay

The U.S. Rewards for Justice Program is fond of finding ways not to pay. It claims to have paid out $9.5 million to 23 tipsters in the last decade, but do the math. That comes to about two people per year who were paid. And most of the time some of the money is withheld, Geis [criminology professor at the University of California-Irvine] says, because the value of a tip leading to arrest and conviction is regarded as discretionary. "Rarely do you see that one lump-sum payment," he adds.