A Geospatial Analysis of the Application of Legal Financial Obligations and Marginalization in Philadelphia

• In Event: The Landscape of Legal Financial Obligations (LFO) and Reforms in Pennsylvania

Abstract

This study provides new and foundational data on how place impacts debt from LFOs, and how the aggregation of LFOs impacts communities and neighborhoods, particularly those that are predominantly comprised of racial and ethnic minority individuals in Philadelphia. The analysis uses geocoded data from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office (DAO) and ArcGIS to identify and map where LFO debts are most prominent, and where disparities in impacts and equity are the largest across communities in Philadelphia. The results suggest that certain neighborhoods in Philadelphia are differentially impacted by the application of LFOs, and that these geographies are often associated with racial and ethnic minority populations, high crime, and socioeconomic disadvantage. This study illustrates the importance of considering LFO debt at the community, and not just the individual level (as is the case in much past research), and highlights how such analyses are useful for determining the broader differential impacts of LFOs between communities.

Authors

• Jordan Hyatt, Drexel University

• Clare Strange, Drexel University

• Nathan W. Link, Rutgers University - Camden

• Brian Lawton, John Jay College of Criminal Justice