Seven Red Flags in ATE Contracts
By Tanisha Pierrette – Research Analyst – Fines and Fees Justice Center Though often branded as a foolproof solution to safer roads, automated traffic enforcement (ATE) — specifically the fines …
Traffic Fines and Fees
Caution: We’re Driving the Wrong Way on Automated Traffic Enforcement
As jurisdictions grapple with growing concerns over traffic safety and the role of police officers in traffic enforcement, there has been a proliferation of automated traffic enforcement (ATE). ATE ecompasses …
Fines & Fees Collection and Enforcement In Wilmington, Delaware: Gains and Costs
Wilmington, Delaware, with a predominantly Black population, experiences a poverty rate surpassing the state average. Criticism has been directed at the city for its ticketing and booting practices, raising concerns …
This Louisiana Town Runs Largely on Traffic Fines. If You Fight Your Ticket, the Mayor Is Your Judge.
A Louisiana town that covers 20 blocks with only 226 residents has garnered national attention for its predatory reliance on fines and forfeitures. To make matters worse, Fenton is home …
Forgotten But Not Gone: A Multi-State Analysis of Modern-Day Debt Imprisonment
The majority of states allow imprisonment as a direct result of failing to pay (FTP) court debt. This report presents findings from a three-state case study that sought to estimate the prevalence …
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 …
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 …
State Debt-Based Car Registration Suspension Laws
Each state has a law permitting the nonrenewal or cancellation of a car registration for nonpayment of a debt to the state or arising from a state-controlled system. Because every …