Research Archives - Page 23 of 43 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

The Relationship Between Debt and Crime: A Systematic and Scoping Review

In a first of its kind, this study explores the relationship between debt and crime among adolescents and adults. The two-part study includes a systematic review of five studies that …

Who Does America Want?

This paper details the fines and fees imposed on people for traffic offenses in Connecticut, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia, and immigration-related fees imposed on people seeking citizenship in the US.

Behavioral Nudges Reduce Failure to Appear for Court

In two large field studies, the authors evaluate interventions to make defendants more aware of court information. In the first, the summons was redesigned to move court information to the …

Pocketbook Policing: How race shapes municipal reliance on punitive fines and fees in the Chicago suburbs

Using data from Chicagoland's suburbs, the authors explain why Black suburban municipalities are driven to rely on fines and fees to address budget shortfalls unlike officials of suburbs with different racial make-ups.

Misaligned incentives and the scale of incarceration in the United States

In 1996, California passed the California Juvenile Justice Realignment bill (SB 681) which made counties responsible for a higher cost to incarcerate youths in California Youth Authority (CYA) facilities. Data …

Cited for Being in Plain Sight: How California Policies Being Black, Brown, and Unhoused in Public

This report is a detailed analysis of non-traffic infraction data from California which shows that minorities are cited at higher rates than White people.

An Assessment of Access to and Quality of Juvenile Defense Counsel in Oregon

This assessment examines how and when youth access counsel, the quality of representation they receive, and the systemic impediments that prevent youth from receiving high-quality representation. Over the course of …

New York’s Ferguson Problem- How the state’s racist fee system punishes poverty, lacks transparency, and is overdue for reform

This paper shows how New York’s criminal justice fines and fees practices worsen racial disparities and punish low-income people.

Local Government Dependence on Criminal Justice Revenue and Emerging Constraints

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 …

Case Studies in Indiana Community Corrections Fines and Fees

The experiences of four people involved in court-ordered community service programs in Indiana highlight the costs people are expected to pay and the variation of costs assessed between different people.