Set Up for Failure? Examining the Influence of Monetary Sanctions on Probation Success

In this article, Professors Amaia Iratzoqui and Christi Metcalfe assess whether fines and fees affect an individual’s success in their probation program. The authors analyzed how the imposition of four monetary sanctions affected a sample of adult felony cases involving probation in Florida in order to investigate two questions:

1. What effects do fines and fees have on the likelihood of violating probation generally?
2. Do the effects of fines and fees vary based on the severity of the violation?

You can read the full text here, but it is behind a paywall.

Key Findings

• Imposition of prosecution fees and restitution were both found to correlate with an increase in offenders violating probation, 5.3 percent and 17.3 percent respectively.
• “Cases in which restitution was ordered were more likely to result in a less serious violation (including the failure to pay restitution) versus no violation, whereas cases in which offenders were given civil judgement reductions were less likely to result in a less serious violation (i.e., more likely to result in no violation).”