While the nation\u2019s imprisoned population has declined<\/a> since peaking in 2009<\/a>, incarceration levels still remain extraordinarily high.<\/p>\n Continued efforts to lower incarceration rates will stall unless we address the role that revenue plays in the daily operation\u00a0of police departments, courts, jails\u00a0and prisons across the country. So much of these entities\u2019 time and effort goes into generating revenue that the goals of pursuing justice and improving public safety often get pushed to the side.<\/p>\n A new Brennan Center for Justice\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0delves into the interlocking economic incentives that underpin our justice system. Many of these practices rely on a simple calculus: More people in the justice system means more dollars for agencies, governments\u00a0and contracted for-profit firms<\/p>\n Some of the revenue streams flow straight out of the pockets of the people who are ticketed, searched, arrested, jailed, tried\u00a0and sent to jail or prison, while others arise from a growing trade in bed space at correctional and detention facilities.<\/p>\n\n A 2020\u00a0study\u00a0found that\u00a0when a municipality increased the percentage of its revenue coming from law enforcement fines, fees\u00a0and forfeitures<\/a>, that rise was associated with statistically significant decreases in clearance rates (the ratio\u00a0of arrests to reported crimes) for both violent and property crimes.<\/p>\n That is an unacceptable trade-off. It\u2019s time for the government agencies involved in the criminal justice system at all levels to examine the revenue-generating parts of their work and its true costs, alongside the budget holes they are meant to fill.<\/p>\n Column:<\/strong>Russia needs to release Brittney Griner. And US leaders need to fix our cannabis laws.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n In the face of shrinking state or federal monetary aid<\/a>, eroded property and sales tax bases<\/a>, and public distaste for tax increases, the pressure to bring in revenue has been intense, to put it mildly. Even so, every program, every policy that now privileges revenue over safety and justice can be realigned. The solutions to these problems exist. They just need people of courage to apply them.<\/p>\n\n The killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri,\u00a0drew national attention to user-funded justice\u00a0\u2013\u00a0the city had pushed the police department<\/a>\u00a0and the courts to maximize funding potential of fines and fees.\u00a0<\/p>\n In fiscal years 2010 and 2011, about 12% of\u00a0Ferguson’s general fund revenue came from fines and fees<\/a>. By fiscal year 2015, the city was budgeting for 23%\u00a0of its revenues to come from fines and fees.<\/p>\n\n Civil asset forfeiture, too, has metastasized into a major revenue source, going well beyond its onetime\u00a0purpose of\u00a0targeting drug kingpins<\/a>. Law enforcement agencies seize and retain peoples\u2019 cash, vehicles<\/a>, homes<\/a>\u00a0and other items on a suspicion of their connection to an offense without having to prove the connection.<\/p>\n Take Minnesota\u2019s Metro Gang Strike Force.\u00a0An investigation revealed that its members\u00a0were\u00a0stopping and searching people who were\u00a0clearly not involved in gang activity<\/a>, and then taking\u00a0or buying seized items for personal use \u2013\u00a0like televisions, tools, appliances\u00a0and jet skis.<\/p>\n Our View:<\/strong>War on cops? Far from it. Biden takes a nudge-and-nurture approach to police reform.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Law enforcement agencies have also been earning revenue from bed space. Some counties offer open beds in local jails to state or federal authorities whose own facilities are overcrowded, such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Marshals. Counties can arrange for the federal government to pay them to maintain a \u201cguaranteed minimum<\/a>\u201d number of beds in their facilities. Some\u00a0expand\u00a0their facilities or build\u00a0new ones to serve this market.\u00a0Or they can act as intermediaries\u00a0between federal agencies and for-profit firms, agreeing to house federal detainees and then subcontracting with a company that puts those people in their facilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n While it is easy to agree that governments should not be extracting money from the most vulnerable,\u00a0nor that\u00a0agencies be rewarded for securing overly harsh punishments, the primary challenge to reform is that these financial motivations \u2013\u00a0and their budgetary effects \u2013\u00a0have become persistent and self-reinforcing. Nevertheless, we can rebalance the scales of justice, and we must.<\/p>\n For example, policymakers can push back against the growing market in bed space and take steps to reduce correctional and detention populations safely. At the same time, where housing deficits still exist, negotiations and contracting should be subjected to increased transparency and accountability.<\/p>\n How to prevent cops from killing:<\/strong>Weaken law enforcement unions and make police pay for misconduct<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Lawmakers can also choose to eliminate civil asset forfeiture. Alternatively, states can redirect forfeiture proceeds away from law enforcement.<\/p>\n\n Legislatures can eliminate all fees, with outstanding debts automatically forgiven.<\/p>\n To realign our priorities, Congress, state legislatures, local governments\u00a0and law enforcement agencies must work together to diminish the lure of existing financial incentives for agencies and municipalities that are often stretched too thin. The justice system should be funded equitably by taxpayers, all of whom are served by it\u00a0\u2013 not primarily by the community\u2019s poorest, most marginalized members.<\/p>\n Ram Subramanian\u00a0is the managing director<\/a> of the Justice Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.\u00a0Lauren-Brooke Eisen\u00a0is the director<\/a> of the program and a former assistant district attorney.<\/em><\/p>\n This column is part of a series by USA TODAY Opinion about police accountability and building safer communities. The project began in 2021 by examining\u00a0qualified immunity<\/a>\u00a0and continues in 2022 by examining various ways to improve law enforcement. The project is made possible in part by a grant from\u00a0Stand Together<\/a>, which does not provide editorial input.<\/em><\/p>\nMichael Brown brought attention to\u00a0Ferguson, Missouri<\/h2>\n
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Civil asset forfeiture no longer hits just drug kingpins<\/h2>\n
Rebalance the scales of justice\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n
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