Five Facts about Fines and Fees Revenues
This brief summarizes the latest data from the US Census Bureau on where and to what extent places are relying on fine and fee revenue. Key Findings: Fiscal year 2022 …
Fair Warnings: Recommendations to Promote Equity in Speed Safety Camera Programs
Speed safety cameras are widely used internationally and in more than 240 communities in the United States as a traffic safety strategy. When well designed, operated, and monitored they can …
Legal Financial Obligations in Washington’s Courts: Final Report to the Legislature
Funded by a 2023 budget bill the Washington State Center for Court Research was tasked to study the state’s system of legal financial obligations (LFOs), this report analyzes the imposition, …
Failure to Pay The Use of Debt-Based Carceral Sanctions and Warrants in Wisconsin’s Municipal Courts
Although municipal courts in Wisconsin do not enforce criminal penalties, many order the arrest and jailing of people for debt-based sanctions. Municipal courts use writs of commitment to authorize the …
Reforming the Shadow Carceral State
Pay-to-stay fees are daily costs imposed on currently or formerly incarcerated people to cover the costs of their own incarceration. Using the repeal of pay-to-stay fees in Illinois as a …
Improving Traffic Ticket Outcomes
Costly fines and fees from traffic citations disproportionately burden low income people with debt they cannot afford. To reduce the burden, California created MyCitations, an online ability-to-pay system. Between July …
Beyond Enforcement: Prioritizing Safety in Federal Transportation Funding
The Department of Transportation (DOT) provides grants for traffic safety measures, but its reporting requirements often prioritize enforcement metrics over strategies to reduce traffic crashes and fatalities. This white paper …
Public Opinion Survey about Alternatives to Financial Restitution
Building on a study which found that the harms caused by the crime and the restitution process rarely align, the authors administered a survey to 4200 respondents to assess public …
The Conservative Case For Fines And Fees Reform
The current criminal and civil fine and fee system in the United States should concern conservatives. This report shows how this system violates four core conservative principles: individual freedom and …
Investigation of the Lexington Police Department and the City of Lexington, Mississippi
On September 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a report concluding that the City of Lexington, Mississippi, and the Lexington Police Department (LPD) engaged “in a pattern …