Dear Supporters of our Police Reform Project, We wish you all a happy and healthy new year. As we enter the new year, let’s first briefly recap where our work is on pretext/secondary stops, and where we are going. Then let’s return to the report we discussed last month by Dr. Sandhya Kageepeta published on the Thurgood Marshall Institute website. Last year, Senate Bill 7111A was introduced in the New York Senate by Senator Hoylman-Sigal. This year, the bill will have to be reintroduced and will receive a new number. Senator Hoylman-Sigal will be reintroducing it into the Senate, and Assembly Member Chantel Jackson will be introducing the bill into the Assembly. We have begun the work of publicizing and gathering support for the bill. We have a coalition that meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 4:00. Please contact Jill at jpaperno@empirejustice.org if you would like to join us for these meetings. We also have a steering committee with members from organizations across the state working towards enactment of this legislation. We will be looking for your help when we begin letter-writing, lobbying, and other efforts that will demonstrate the broad support for this bill. Watch this space. Returning to Dr. Kageepeta’s report, there was one interesting analysis that we have not covered in depth – economic impact of traffic enforcement of low-level, non-safety stops. In her report, Dr. Kageepeta notes that reliance by state and local governments on revenue from traffic stops through fines and fees leads to wealth extraction from communities. In her report, she cites an analysis published on the website equitablegrowth.org, “How Government Reliance on Fines and Fees Harms Communities Across the United States.” Dr. Kageepeta notes, State and local governments rely heavily on police traffic stops as a source of revenue through fines and fees, and maximizing revenue is often cited as a law enforcement priority. This results in the extraction of wealth from communities. One traffic ticket can snowball into insurmountable debt, driver’s license suspensions, and even incarceration for those unable to afford bail. A survey of Alabama residents found that eighty-three percent of people who owed court debt sacrificed money for rent, food, medical bills, car payments, or child support to pay court fines and fees. Because police disproportionately target Black drivers with discretionary traffic stops, Black communities also bear a disproportionate burden of court fines and fees. In addition to the obvious harms of racial disparities in enforcement of low-level, non-safety stops, there are many consequences we are just beginning to recognize. Wealth extraction is yet another reason to change our current system. Thank you for your continued interest and support. Katie Blum, Esq. Jill Paperno, Esq. |
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