Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

This project seeks to understand precisely how the punishment of prison and its collateral consequences—in particular criminal justice debt (court-mandated fines, fees, and child support)— affect individuals’ financial situations and stability. Based on 39 in-depth interviews with individuals with criminal justice histories in New York and New Jersey, this project aims to understand each person’s “ability to pay,” ability to manage their debt and finances following incarceration, and the impact of collections mechanism. There are three key findings. One, there has been a surge in criminal justice debt and increasing state punitiveness meted out to those who fail to pay. Two, debt is paid not only by those convicted of crimes, but also by their families (or friends) who are the last stop before re-incarceration. Three, public policy aimed at collecting debt must ultimately be more closely tailored to the ability of an individual—not that of his or her family or network of friends—to pay what may be due.