The treatment group was 30 percentage points less likely to receive warrants related to their original case and 18 percentage points less likely to have any warrant issued in Oklahoma County.
A follow-up study to Criminalizing Poverty: The Consequences of Court Fees in a Randomized Experiment, confirms what many have long argued—court fines and fees do not deter crime. Instead, they trap poor people in a cycle of legal system involvement. Researchers in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, randomly assigned 606 misdemeanor defendants to either receive relief from all current fines and fees or remain responsible for their court debt. Participants averaged over $1,000 in assessed fees and other court costs. Over the 44-month follow-up, those who got debt relief were significantly less likely to be jailed or have arrest warrants issued against them. Researchers also found that fines and fees did not reduce crime, but gave courts more reasons to issue warrants and lock people up for nonpayment. By eliminating fines and fees, the study participants avoided court-ordered debt collection, arrest warrants, and the financial strain that can exacerbate poverty. The findings challenge the notion that monetary sanctions promote accountability and suggest that fines and fees function less as a tool for public safety and more as a mechanism for prolonged legal supervision of low-income individuals.
You can read the full text here.
Key Findings:
- Participants who had their fines and fees relieved were 15 percent less likely to be jailed over the 44-month follow-up period: fee relief eliminated roughly 620 days of incarceration among the 295 treatment respondents.
- After 44 months, participants who did not receive debt relief:
- Still owed substantial fines and fees, with only 41 percent making any payments.
- Owed an average of $1,141 for the misdemeanor case that brought them to court.
- Participants who did receive debt relief experienced significantly better financial outcomes after 44 months. They were:
- 40 percentage points less likely to have a tax return interception mandate issued,
- 15 percentage points less likely to have new debt added to their outstanding balance, and
- 26 percentage points less likely to have debt sent to a private collection.
- There was no effect on new charges, convictions, or probation violations between those who received debt relief and those who did not.
Recommendations by the Study’s Authors:
- To shrink jail populations and save court and law enforcement resources, fines and fees for anyone who qualifies for indigent defense should be eliminated.