A Geospatial Analysis of Legal Financial Obligations, Crime, and Marginalization in Philadelphia
The imposition of legal financial obligations (LFOs) is well documented for their impact on individuals’ financial well-being, health and future system involvement, but there remain important questions about whether LFOs contribute to and reinforce marginalization and long term community instability. Using data from the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania on felony dockets sentenced in Philadelphia County between 2010 and 2020, and demographic data from the Philadelphia Data Portal and the U.S. Census Bureau, this report explores the geospatial relationship of LFO assessment in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This descriptive and correlational study examines the concentrations of LFOs applied across Philadelphia in conjunction with demographic, socioeconomic, and crime/victimization data. The results found that the places with the greatest disadvantage (as represented by separate measures of median household income, crime, and victimization), and home to the largest Black and Latino populations had the highest rates of applied LFOs. The authors conclude that LFOs, crime, and marginalization appear to co-occur and potentially reinforce one another.
Key Findings:
- LFO assessments are not evenly distributed across Philadelphia; they cluster geographically, mostly in North and West Philadelphia.
- The 10 zip codes with the highest LFO assessments had a median household income ranging between $23,138 and $37,434, well below the citywide average of $60,000.
- ZIP codes and block groups with the lowest LFO rates have notably higher median household income, lower crime rates, and larger white and “Other” race/ethnicity populations.
- The block- group spatial correlations found a positive association of LFO rate with violent incident rates and shooting rates.
Recommendations:
- Community level interventions such as eliminating fines and fees and reducing the reliance on monetary sanctions may help mitigate structural harm.