Local governments most dependent on criminal justice revenue are predominately from rural areas with smaller constituent tax bases.
Across the nation, local governments use the criminal justice system to balance their budgets through fines, fees, costs, assessments, and forfeitures. Many have become dependent on criminal justice revenue to remain solvent. This article summarizes revenue-motivated law enforcement literature and their observed outcomes. Research demonstrates that when law enforcement deviates from public safety to revenue generation, clearance rates for violent crimes decrease, and policing against minority populations and out-of-towners increases. The article also includes proposed legal and policy reforms to constrain revenue-motivated law enforcement.
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Key Findings:
- Local governments most dependent on criminal justice revenue are predominately from rural areas with smaller constituent tax bases.
- Fine and fee revenues increase with the size of a county’s African-American population.
- In 25 local governments in Louisiana, the sum of fines, forfeitures, and other court revenue exceeds 50 percent of general revenue.
- Since 1996, Florida has added 20 types of financial obligations while increasing several current fees.
- State and local agencies can receive up to 80 percent back from the federal fund for seizing property allegedly associated with a federal crime.
- Although states experienced a 17 percent reduction in reported crime, states produced 37 percent more drug arrests after the implementation of federal equitable sharing in 1984.
Recommendations:
- Implement day fine structures to account for ability to pay.
- Local governments should remit all criminal justice revenue to the state government for redistribution back to municipal governments as per capita block grants.