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I'd like to see the data behind this quote: "This new system of offender-funded law enforcement creates a vicious circle: The poorer the defendants are, the lo
by williadc 12y ago
I'd like to see the data behind this quote:
"This new system of offender-funded law enforcement creates a vicious circle: The poorer the defendants are, the longer it will take them to pay off the fines, fees and charges; the more debt they accumulate, the longer they will remain on probation or in jail; and the more likely they are to be unemployable and to become recidivists."
- vinceguidry 12y agoThis state of affairs has been slowly accumulating since the 80s. There probably aren't any rigorous data sets that 'prove' the characterization of that statement, but one young social worker actually went and lived in a poor neighborhood that exhibited this sort of poverty / correctional custody trap, her account is here: http://www.amazon.com/Run-Fugitive-Fieldwork-Encounters-Discoveries-ebook/dp/B00JHCNVNU/ http://www.amazon.com/Run-Fugitive-Fieldwork-Encounters-Disc...
- pessimizer 12y agoThe quote that you've used is a deductive argument. It would be interesting to see if the effects are borne out in the data, but I'd look for a hole in the premises of the actual argument first - if only to see what data may or may not be relevant to its soundness.
- maxerickson 12y agoIt isn't deeply empirical, but this article provides some exposition on it: http://www.npr.org/2014/05/19/312158516/increasing-court-fees-punish-the-poor http://www.npr.org/2014/05/19/312158516/increasing-court-fee...