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Date: April 19, 2024 Fri
Time: 8:51 am
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1 results foundAuthor: Financial Justice Project Title: Criminal Justice Administrative Fees: High Pain for People, Low Gain for Government. A Call to Action for California Counties Summary: On February 6, 2018, San Francisco Board of Supervisors President London Breed held a press conference on the steps of San Francisco City Hall. Surrounded by dozens of residents, community activists, and elected officials, Breed announced that she was introducing legislation to make San Francisco the first city and county in the nation to eliminate all criminal justice administrative fees authorized by our local government. The legislation also aims to eliminate all outstanding debt from these criminal justice fees, and challenges other counties to re-examine their reliance on criminal justice fees, and search for more fair and just ways to fund our criminal justice system. The broader public often does not realize that when individuals exit the criminal justice system, they can be assessed thousands of dollars in administrative fees that aim to recoup costs for the courts and government. For example, in San Francisco people can be charged a $50 monthly probation fee; up to $35 a day to rent an electronic ankle surveillance monitor, and other fees to pay for reports, collections costs, or tests. The fees can add up to thousands of dollars. The ten San Francisco criminal justice administrative fees targeted for elimination by this legislation are assessed on individuals who have already paid other consequences for their crime. They have often served time in jail, paid other fines or are paying victim restitution. The goals of these local criminal justice fees are to generate revenue to cover costs, not create an additional layer of punishment. San Francisco is not alone in this practice. Similar fines and fees are assessed in localities throughout California and the nation. While this legislation aims to eliminate local administrative fees, other fees and fines are also authorized and assessed by the state government and the courts. Over the past year, the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, The San Francisco Financial Justice Project, and The San Francisco Mayor's Office of Budget and Public Policy have conducted research on the impacts of these criminal justice administrative fees. These departments were spurred to action by various community organizations and the Debt Free SF coalition that decried how many San Franciscans were struggling to pay these fees, and the barriers they created for people struggling to get back on their feet. The Adult Probation Department, the Sheriff's Department, and the District Attorney’s Office all collaborated with us as we conducted this research and are champions of this legislation. Our key research findings and conclusions include: - People exiting the criminal justice system can be assessed dozens of fines and fees that can add up to thousands of dollars. At least 45 fines and fees can be assessed from people exiting our local criminal justice system, approximately 30 of which are administrative fees. Some are assessed by the county, and others by the courts or state government. - Over the last six years, more than 265,000 fines and fees have been charged to local individuals, totaling almost $57 million. Of this total, more than $20 million of these fines and fees are locally controlled and authorized by San Francisco County. - Over the last six years, over 20,000 individuals have accumulated more than $15 million in unpaid debt from locally authorized fees. This legislation calls for the elimination of this outstanding debt. - The collection rates on these fees are very low, averaging seventeen percent across these locally authorized fees, simply because people cannot afford to pay them. - Monthly $50 probation fees result in the most debt and appear to be the hardest for people to pay. In San Francisco, individuals are charged a monthly $50 probation fee. Typically, the entire cost of the average three-year probation supervision term is billed to the individual upfront at the beginning of their probation, totaling $1,800. A total of $15.8 million in probation fees has been assessed in the last six years. Of the $15.8 million, more than $12 million is still uncollected. In 2016, the collection rate for probation fees was nine percent. - The cost of this legislation will be outweighed by the benefits. The Mayor's Budget Office estimates that elimination of these criminal justice administrative fees will cost $1 million a year in foregone revenue, spread across several City departments. We believe the benefits of eliminating this debt outweighs the foregone revenue. Eliminating this liability will lift $15 million in debt off thousands of individuals, most of whom are very low income. This debt makes it harder to meet their day to day living expenses, and is a barrier to their successful re-entry. Details: San Francisco: San Francisco Office of the treasurer & Tax Collector, 2018. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 18, 2019 at: https://sftreasurer.org/sites/default/files/Criminal%20Justice%20Fees_High%20Pain_Low%20Gain%20FINAL.pdf Year: 0 Country: United States URL: https://sftreasurer.org/sites/default/files/Criminal%20Justice%20Fees_High%20Pain_Low%20Gain%20FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 155017 Keywords: Criminal Justice Administrative Fees Criminal Justice Debt DebtFees and Fines |