June 1, 2022
Counties relying on court fees for revenue see increase rates of incarceration for women
Recent research from the University of Washington indicates a connection between counties in Washington state that bolster their revenues through court-imposed fines and the incarceration rates among women in those counties. The researchers found entire communities are being affected by the penalization of individuals through monetary sanctions such as traffic fines or court processing fees.
With the knowledge that women’s incarceration rates are increasing while men’s are decreasing, the researchers analyzed the connection between defendants’ gender and monetary sanctions specifically in Washington state to gain insight on this nationwide issue.
The team used county-level statistics from the Washington Administrative Office of the Courts, budget information from the Washington State Auditor and demographic data from the U.S. Census Bureau to determine that women are more likely to be affected by poverty than men, which lends to their being disproportionately affected by county fines and fees. They additionally found that the positive correlation between county revenue from monetary sanctions and women’s incarceration rates is likely caused by the increased burden of financial sentences for women and the higher likelihood that women commit lower-level offenses than men.
The researchers hope that their findings illuminate the detriment of using these types of monetary sanctions for government revenue and propose reduced costs in the justice system and alternate revenue sources for governments to eliminate the harms of this system.