Post by ck4829 on Dec 23, 2016 6:50:38 GMT -6
The state’s poorest communities are footing most of the $20 million bill for probation service fees, according to a study from the Prison Policy Initiative.
The report, “Punishing Poverty: The High Cost of Probation Fees in Massachusetts,” looked at the state’s 62 district courts and the combined per-capita income of individuals in each district.
According to the report, nearly three out of four people under state correctional control are on some form of probation. In Greenfield District Court, 572 were on probation as of January 2016.
“If you are one of these 67,000 people (on probation statewide), the state tells you probation is ‘an opportunity for you to make positive changes in your life,’ allowing you to remain in the community, work, and be with family and friends instead of serving time in jail or prison.
“While this may sound like a great deal, it comes at a price,” Wendy Sawyer, policy analyst and the report’s author, wrote.
That price depends on the type of probation an individual receives and how well they are able to follow their conditions and pay the fees. People placed on supervised probation are charged $65 a month while those on administrative probation pay $50 a month.
“It’s not like, ‘Oh, it’s just a $50 or $60 fee every month, no big deal.’ It can actually lead to a lot of debt over time and consequences like incarceration,” Sawyer said.
“You can lose your license. If you can’t pay your fee, it can be a contributing factor of your probation being revoked. It’s just not a little thing, even though it seems like a little thing.”
Expanding fees
The current system of probation fees began in 1988 when lawmakers enacted a monthly fee of one to three days’ net wages for almost everyone on probation, according to Sawyer.
Over the next 20 years, “legislators expanded the fee and limited judicial discretion,” Sawyer wrote. In 1990, the fee was set at $30. In 2003, that number grew to $65 for supervised probation and a separate $21 administrative supervision fee was added. In 2009, facing budget cuts, the state increased the administrative supervision fee to the current $50 level, according to Sawyer.
“The consequences of being unable to pay your fines are pretty steep. You can end up in jail. Legally, that shouldn’t happen — Supreme Court decisions have made it clear that the inability to pay fees should not lead to incarceration — but if people aren’t looking into your inability to pay, then they can’t prove that you aren’t able to pay,” Sawyer said.
www.recorder.com/Report-Poorest-pay-for-probation-6789877
Read more: burnoatus.freeforums.net/thread/365/probation-comes-high-price-poor#ixzz4TfIRmzUd
The report, “Punishing Poverty: The High Cost of Probation Fees in Massachusetts,” looked at the state’s 62 district courts and the combined per-capita income of individuals in each district.
According to the report, nearly three out of four people under state correctional control are on some form of probation. In Greenfield District Court, 572 were on probation as of January 2016.
“If you are one of these 67,000 people (on probation statewide), the state tells you probation is ‘an opportunity for you to make positive changes in your life,’ allowing you to remain in the community, work, and be with family and friends instead of serving time in jail or prison.
“While this may sound like a great deal, it comes at a price,” Wendy Sawyer, policy analyst and the report’s author, wrote.
That price depends on the type of probation an individual receives and how well they are able to follow their conditions and pay the fees. People placed on supervised probation are charged $65 a month while those on administrative probation pay $50 a month.
“It’s not like, ‘Oh, it’s just a $50 or $60 fee every month, no big deal.’ It can actually lead to a lot of debt over time and consequences like incarceration,” Sawyer said.
“You can lose your license. If you can’t pay your fee, it can be a contributing factor of your probation being revoked. It’s just not a little thing, even though it seems like a little thing.”
Expanding fees
The current system of probation fees began in 1988 when lawmakers enacted a monthly fee of one to three days’ net wages for almost everyone on probation, according to Sawyer.
Over the next 20 years, “legislators expanded the fee and limited judicial discretion,” Sawyer wrote. In 1990, the fee was set at $30. In 2003, that number grew to $65 for supervised probation and a separate $21 administrative supervision fee was added. In 2009, facing budget cuts, the state increased the administrative supervision fee to the current $50 level, according to Sawyer.
“The consequences of being unable to pay your fines are pretty steep. You can end up in jail. Legally, that shouldn’t happen — Supreme Court decisions have made it clear that the inability to pay fees should not lead to incarceration — but if people aren’t looking into your inability to pay, then they can’t prove that you aren’t able to pay,” Sawyer said.
www.recorder.com/Report-Poorest-pay-for-probation-6789877
Read more: burnoatus.freeforums.net/thread/365/probation-comes-high-price-poor#ixzz4TfIRmzUd