Probation in Allegheny County
Although probation is seen as an alternative to incarceration, it has become a driver of incarceration. Forty percent of people in the Allegheny County Jail are incarcerated because of probation …
Racial Disparities
Civil Rights and Equity of Legal Financial Obligations in North Carolina
Each state has an advisory committee on civil rights composed of members with diverse backgrounds, skills, and experiences that advise the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on civil rights issues …
No License to Drive: Why So Many Ohioans Are Barred From Driving
States surrounding Ohio have eliminated debt-based driver’s license suspensions in recent years, but Ohio continues to issue suspensions for failure to pay court debt. An investigation by Marshall Project–Cleveland and …
Why Automated Speed Cameras Disproportionately Affect Black and Brown Drivers
Automated traffic enforcement is active in nearly 200 communities nationwide. In Chicago, Illinois, speed cameras have been in place since 2013. In 2023, the city generated an extra $120 million …
Debt Sentence: How Fines And Fees Hurt Working Families
This report shares the results of a national survey of over 5,600 adults to see how court-imposed fines and fees affect people across the country.
Fines and Financial Wellbeing
Unplanned financial shocks can have long-term effects on household finances. This article explores whether households can absorb unanticipated shocks by estimating the impacts of fines for traffic violations on household …
Revenue, Race, and the Potential Unintended Consequences of Traffic Enforcement Reform
Highly publicized killings of people by law enforcement during traffic stops have led to a growing interest in traffic enforcement reform. While some see automated traffic enforcement and unarmed civilian …
The Financial Impact of Suspended Licenses in Illinois
Contact with the criminal legal system and sanctions such as driver’s license suspensions can result in limited employment opportunities and have lifelong impacts on a person’s potential earnings. In Illinois, …
Arrested Mobility: Barriers To Walking, Biking, And E-Scooter Use In Black Communities In The United States
Inequitable infrastructure investment has created mobility obstacles and racially discriminatory policing in transportation for Black Americans and people of color. Although more than half of the nation’s most dangerous streets …
Police Killings and Municipal Reliance on Fine-and-Fee Revenue
Between 2016 and 2021, more than 400 unarmed people were killed by police during traffic stops. In addition, metropolitan areas that rely more on revenue from fines and fees experience …