State of Phone Justice: Local jails, state prisons and private phone providers
This policy brief from the Prison Policy Initiative provides an overview of prison and jail phone call fees and makes several recommendations to reform them.
(Color)blind Reform: How ability-to-pay determinations are inadequate to transform a racialized system of penal debt
This law review article argues that fines and fees reformers’ emphasis on instituting ability-to-pay determinations without any reductions in racially discriminatory ticketing may cause more harm than good. In particular, the author articulates a concern that ability-to-pay determinations risk legitimizing the existing system of monetary sanctions and entrenching damages inflicted upon people deemed ‘able to pay.’
It’s All About The Money: An Exploration of Probation Fees
Texas relies on supervision fees from probationers to recuperate operating costs for their probation program; failure to pay can result in additional sanctions and ultimately, revocations. This study used focus …
Prison Phone Justice: Intrastate Collect Prison Phone Rates [Map]
The Campaign for Prison Phone Justice maintains a website tracking the cost of phone calls from prisons in all U.S. states as well as the sum of kickbacks that families of incarcerated people have paid to relevant corrections agencies nationwide.
Report of Statewide Collection of Court-Ordered Debt for 2017-18
This report profiles the collection of unpaid court-ordered fines and fees during the 2017-18 fiscal year in California.
Stopping the Debt Spiral
This report shares the results of a survey of 304 low-income Illinois residents who were asked about their experience with debt, including criminal justice debt. Respondents disclosed the types of debt they had, the number of debts they owed, and the emotional toll debt takes on their families.
Every Second: The Impact of Incarceration on America’s Families
Mass incarceration impacts not only incarcerated people but their families and communities. Approximately 113 million people have had an immediate family member incarcerated for at least one night, and 6.5 …
Legal Financial Obligations in Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s use of legal financial obligations (LFOs) as a revenue mechanism is a long-established practice. The state enacted its first surcharge in 1977, and the number has grown significantly since. …
Criminal Justice Debt in the South: A Primer for the Southern Partnership to Reduce Debt
Criminal justice debt places a h eavy burden on low-income families, often making it harder for those who owe to earn a living, trapping them and their families in poverty. …
New York Should Re-examine Mandatory Court Fees Imposed on Individuals Convicted of Criminal Offenses and Violations
This report examines the current status of mandatory surcharges in New York, describes the impact of the surcharges on indigent defendants, and proposes legislative changes, including the elimination of the surcharges.