Legal Financial Obligations and Recidivism

• In Event: Post-Incarceration Finances and Institutional Buy-In for Reentry

Abstract

Legal financial obligations (LFOs), monetary sanctions, and other debts associated with justice system involvement are increasingly a focus for policymakers and researchers seeking to reduce inequality and encourage community reintegration for returning citizens. These conversations often include, or rely on, the belief that LFOs are associated with or cause higher rates of recidivism. The empirical research in this area has not kept pace with the strength of these claims. This presentation reports on new findings that may offer a new perspective and encourage a shift towards a more evidence-based debate. Multi-source administrative data on all individuals released from carceral supervision in an East Coast state (n= 21,303) for a two-year period are used to examine the complex relationship between criminal justice debt and offending. We first explore the landscape of LFOs, focusing on the amount, frequency, and prevalence within the cohort. We then detail the results of survival analyses estimating the impact of these debts on various forms of recidivism. Broadly, we find that, while the relationship between case-level LFO assessments future offending was not significant, the association with the cumulative effect of monetary sanctions over a lifetime was. Implications for policy, research, and advocacy are additionally considered.

Authors

• Michael Ostermann, Rutgers University

• Jordan Hyatt, Drexel University

• Nathan Link, Rutgers University, Camden