The Cycle: How Motor Vehicular Tickets, Fines, and Fees Exacerbate Poverty and Contribute to Mass Incarceration CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH Criminal Justice Airenakhue B. Omoragbon, NREI Social Justice Fellow MAY 2022
Who We Are Established in Late 2020 The National Racial Equity Initiative’s (NREI) mission is to combat systemic injustice and advance racial equity, human rights, education, and community/economic development opportunities for the Black community. Housed in CBCF’s Center for Policy Analysis and Research (CPAR), the NREI takes an evidence-based approach to inform sound policies targeted at reducing racial disparities caused by racism and discrimination. NREI also strives to provide solutions-driven and proactive policies and practices that produce equitable access, opportunities, treatment, and outcomes for African Americans. For more information about NREI, visit cbcfinc.org/nrei .
3 CPAR | The Cycle: How Motor Vehicular Tickets, Fines, and Fees Exacerbate Poverty and Contribute to Mass Incarceration Action Needed 1 Hirsch, J. and Jones, P.S. (2021). Driver’s License Suspension for Unpaid Fines and Fees: The Movement for Reform. University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform. 54,875. Retrieved from: https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent. 2cgi?article=2535&context=mjlrJones,P.S.(2021).22Statesin 5 Years: Bipartisan Lawmakers Coalesce Behind Curbing Debt-Based Driving Restrictions. Fines and Fees Justice Center. Retrieved from haveWhiledepartmentsLegislatorsBlackarevokingtoday,ticket,withplaguedontheirBlack,Approximatelydefault/files/2019-11/2019_10_Fees%26Fines_Final4.pdfAnalysis3bipartisan-lawmakers-coalesce-behind-curbing-debt-based-driving-restrictions/https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/2021/08/13/22-states-in-5-years-Menendez,M.,Crowley,M.F.,Eisen,L.,&Atchison,N.(2019).TheSteepCostsofCriminalJusticeFinesandFees:AFiscalof10StatesandCounties.BrennanCenterforJustice.Retrievedfromhttps://www.brennancenter.org/sites/11millionAmericans,manyofwhomarehavedriver’slicensesthataresuspendedduetoinabilitytopayfortickets,fines,andfees.1Manylivelowincomesandresideincommunitieshistoricallywithviolenceandheightenedlevelsofinteractionlawenforcement.Whileaperson’sinabilitytopayafine,orfeearguablydoesnotthreatenpublicsafety,statesacrossthecountryrespondtothisoffensebytheprivilegetodrive.Thispunitiveactioncreatescriminaldebtcyclethatdisproportionatelyimpactsthecommunity.mustpasslawstopreventstatemotorvehiclefromsuspendinglicensesduetounpaiddebt.lawmakersin22statesandtheDistrictofColumbiaalreadypassedthesetypesofreforms,2itisimportantthatlawslikethisexistineverystateacrossthecountry. Significance Debt-based driving restrictions disproportionately impact Black people, contribute to financial instability, and threaten the safety of their communities. A 2019 Brennan Center report found that “economically disadvantaged communities and people of color are policed at greater rates than white, affluent areas are.”3As it pertains to debt-based driving restrictions, this demonstrates how fees and fines are imposed on and collected
8cgi?article=1184&context=eti_pubsValeii,K.(2018).Driver’sEdisBecoming Harder
CPAR | The Cycle: How Motor Vehicular Tickets, Fines, and Fees Exacerbate Poverty and Contribute to Mass Incarceration
com/economics/why-poor-people-and-poc-dont-take-drivers-ed YEARLY PARKING TICKETS ISSUED
• Every year, $7.6 million in parking tickets is issued in Black neighborhoods, while only $4.1 million is issued in white neighborhoods.5
more frequently from communities of color. For example, between 2017 and 2021, The Washington Post collected traffic and parking enforcement data for the District of Columbia. In analyzing over 10 million records of infractions given to drivers during those years, they found that:
765www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/08/06/dc-traffic-parking-tickets-black-neighborhoods/IdId.Pawasarat,J.andQuinn,L.M.(2017).ETIResearchonDisparateRacialImpactsofUsingDriver’sLicenses for
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• Sixty-two percent of all fines from automated systems and D.C. police, totaling $467 million, were issued in neighborhoods where Black residents make up at least 70% of the population and where the median household income is below $50,000.4
The data illustrates the disproportionate enforcement of ticketing in the District of Columbia and uncovers a predatory system that affects communities of color. This level of driving-related debt raises concern given only one-third of the city’s driving age residents live in predominantly Black neighborhoods in Washington, D.C.6 Scholars have also identified similar trends across the United States. The Employment and Training Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee found that while 17% of white people over the age of 18 didn’t have a driver’s license, 55% of Black males and 49% of Black females were unlicensed.7 This is largely because many states across the country have restructured and defunded their driver’s education programs, shifting the burden of funding driver’s education from the state and onto families.8 4 Harden, J.D. (2021). D.C. parking, traffic tickets snowball into financial hardships. Washington Post. Retrieved from https:// Voter IDs. University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Employment and Training Institute. Retrieved from https://dc.uwm.edu/cgi/viewcontent. for Poor Kids to Afford. Pacific Standard. Retrieved from https://psmag. BY NEIGHBORHOOD
Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/business/ 16archive/2016/06/no-drivers-license-no-job/486653/Id.
Studies show that 86% of Americans drive to work every day.9 Most of these workers live in nonmetropolitan areas (91%) and communities that do not have the most robust public transit systems.10 Without the ability to drive or commute to work, many Americans cannot participate in the workforce or contribute to the economy.11 For example, in New Jersey 42% of drivers lost their jobs after their driver’s license was suspended.12 Of those individuals, almost 50% could not find new employment.13 And of the individuals who were able to find new employment, almost 90% reported a loss of income.
5 CPAR | The Cycle: How Motor Vehicular Tickets, Fines, and Fees Exacerbate Poverty and Contribute to Mass Incarceration
Since accessibility and cost prevent many Black Americans from having a driver’s license, it is important that policies determining the cost of driving-related fines and fees do not interfere with their ability to maintain them, entangle them in a cycle of debt, and/or usher them into the criminal justice system.
12 Civil Rights Corps. (2021). Fact Sheet on Debt-Based License Suspension. Retrieved from https://civilrightscorps.org/wp151413content/uploads/2021/10/RQf7zMrURTGqrxWmr0py.pdfId.Id.Semuels,A.(2016.)NoDriver’sLicense,NoJob.TheAtlantic.
CONTRIBUTES TO FINANCIAL INSTABILITY
10 Id. 11 American Public Transportation Association. (2020). Economic Impact of Public Transportation Investment. Retrieved from https://www.apta.com/wp-content/uploads/APTA-Economic-Impact-Public-Transit-2020.pdf
While every job does not require a driver’s license, many of the jobs that can provide a career pathway that would elevate individuals out of poverty and into an income bracket that would allow for greater financial stability, often do.15 These include jobs in the construction, manufacturing, security, electrical, and plumbing industries that require employees to either transport materials or commute to their worksites. 16 9 McKenzie, B. (2015). Who Drives to Work? Commuting by Automobile in the United States: 2013. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2015/acs/acs-32.pdf
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6 CPAR | The Cycle: How Motor Vehicular Tickets, Fines, and Fees Exacerbate Poverty and Contribute to Mass Incarceration PUBLIC SAFETY RISKS AND IMPACT ON BLACK COMMUNITIES In addition to contributing to Black people’s loss of employment and income, debtrelated driver’s license suspensions pose a threat to public safety. On any given day, police officers pull over approximately 50,000 drivers, or more than 20 million people per year.17 Many of these pretextual stops18 are for non-public safety offenses. According to scholars, the cost of processing, administering, and enforcing these sorts of offenses creates a strain on budgets and resources that could better be used to attend to public safety priorities.19 There are Black communities across the United States that experience heightened levels of community violence. However, because criminal justice resources are diverted to address non-dangerous driving offenses, many of these communities’ public safety needs may not be met. 17 Mercer, M. (2020). Police ’Pretext’ Traffic Stops Need to End, Some Lawmakers Say. Pew Research Institute. Retrieved from Brief-Final.pdfConstitution19Pretextsconduct18to-end-some-lawmakers-sayhttps://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2020/09/03/police-pretext-traffic-stops-need-Pretextualpolicingcanbestbedefinedas“thepracticeofstoppingsomeoneforaminortrafficviolationinordertoinvestigationsunrelatedtothereasonforthestop”;JusticeForwardVirginia.(n.d.).SuccessStory:ManyPolicingEliminatedinVirginia.Retrievedfromhttps://justiceforwardva.com/pretextual-policingConley,D.andLevinson-Waldman,A.(2019).DiscriminatoryDriver’sLicenseSuspensionSchemes.AmericanSociety.Retrievedfromhttps://www.acslaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/License-Suspension-Issue-
20 20 Alvarez, D. (2021). My Life Was Derailed By a Traffic Ticket. American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved from https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/my-life-was-derailed-by-a-traffic-ticket
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CONTRIBUTES TO MASS INCARCERATION
CPAR | The Cycle: How Motor Vehicular Tickets, Fines, and Fees Exacerbate Poverty and Contribute to Mass Incarceration
For Black people who are unable to pay their tickets, fines, and fees, the likelihood of encountering the criminal justice system is high. Many who have their driving privileges revoked continue to drive to purchase food, go to work, attend school, and do other activities that help them run their households and remain financially stable. In a recent op-ed for the American Civil Liberties Union, activist Dario Alvarez tells the story of how a single traffic ticket sent him to jail, caused him to lose his source of income, and put him in a position where he had no choice but to continue breaking the law.
“I was on my way to work at a food safety lab, in a new car with tinted windows and a temporary plate displayed behind tinted windows. A highway patrol officer pulled me over and gave me a ticket for the windows and for not having a license plate, because he couldn’t see it. I ended up facing fines of about $500 in total... At the time I was making $20 per hour. So I got on a payment plan to pay it off. Not long after, the lab I worked at closed down and I lost my job—and my ability to make those payments...I thought things were looking up when I got another job... But I got pulled over again on my way to work. That’s when I found out that my driver’s license had been suspended for failing to make payments during that period when I didn’t have a job. I missed work that day because I was sitting in jail, without the ability to call in. When I finally got out and tried to explain the situation to my employer, I found out I’d been automatically fired due to their strict no call, no show policy... At that point, I felt like I had no choice: either drive without a license or miss out on the opportunity to make a living again and make those payments. I’d be breaking the law either way.”
• Provide grants to states that do not suspend, revoke, or refuse to review a person’s driver’s license or registration for failure to pay a civil or criminal fine or fee;
• Authorize the attorney general to make grants to states to cover the costs of reinstating driver’s licenses that were previously suspended for unpaid fines and fees; and
In many states, driving on a suspended license is an offense that is punishable under criminal law.21 Because of this, many individuals living on low incomes who typically would not be involved with the criminal justice system, are ushered into the system due to their inability to pay. This jumpstarts a vicious cycle wherein those unjustly exposed to the criminal justice system choose to continue to break the law to stay out of jail. Greater Birmingham Ministries & Legal Services Alabama surveyed people who were convicted of traffic violations in the state. In this survey, 38 respondents reported committing a crime to help pay down their court debt. Supra note 18 22 Free to Drive (2020). The Driving for Opportunity Act. Retrieved from 23uploads/2020/11/The-Driving-for-Opportunity-Act_Explainer_Nov_2020.pdfhttps://www.freetodrive.org/wp-content/Id.
Legislative Opportunities and Policy Recommendations
FEDERAL POLICY
8 CPAR | The Cycle: How Motor Vehicular Tickets, Fines, and Fees Exacerbate Poverty and Contribute to Mass Incarceration
• Repeal the law that reduces federal highway funding for states that fail to suspend driver’s licenses for anyone convicted of a drug offense.22 Reinstatement fees cost as much as $275 in some states. Passing this law would offer drivers who previously could not afford to reinstate their licenses, the opportunity to drive again. It would also remove state incentives to restrict driving privileges for nontraffic offenses.23
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Federal lawmakers have made numerous strides over the last few decades to address debt-related driver’s license suspensions. Currently, the most prominent policy is the Driving for Opportunity Act [S.998/H.R. 2453]. Sponsored by Senators Chris Coons [D-Del] and Roger Wicker [R-MS], and Representative Mary Gay Scanlon in the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, the Driving for Opportunity Act would:
Greater downareported38state.trafficweresurveyedServicesMinistriesBirmingham&LegalAlabamapeoplewhoconvictedofviolationsintheInthissurvey,respondentscommittingcrimetohelppaytheircourtdebt.
9 CPAR | The Cycle: How Motor Vehicular Tickets, Fines, and Fees Exacerbate Poverty and Contribute to Mass Incarceration POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS In continuing reforms aimed at preventing state motor vehicle departments from suspending licenses due to unpaid debt, legislators must develop policies that: • Are informed by the communities most impacted by debt-related driving restrictions.24 This includes drivers who are Black, living with low incomes, and residing in communities that have historically experienced heightened levels of violence and interference from the police. • Implement reforms that are retroactive (taking effect starting on a date that is in the past).25 • Automatically reinstate driver’s licenses versus requiring action on the part of the individual.26 • Eliminate all driver’s license suspensions, revocations, and nonrenewals of licenses and vehicle registrations.27 • Address all the non-public safety reasons for driver’s license suspensions (Ex. Tickets, fines, fees, failure to appear in court, etc.)28 24 Jones, P.S. (2021). 22 States in 5 Years: Bipartisan Lawmakers Coalesce Behind Curbing Debt-Based Driving Restrictions. Fines and Fees Justice Center. Retrieved from 28272625bipartisan-lawmakers-coalesce-behind-curbing-debt-based-driving-restrictions/https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/2021/08/13/22-states-in-5-years-Id.Id.Id.Id.
CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH Criminal Justice For more research and publications, visit cbcfinc.org .