Abstract

The impact of low-level criminal enforcement on communities has been the subject of a growing body of scholarship and policy work, and awareness that even minor offenses can impose unaffordable criminal debt and negatively affect other rights. Many jurisdictions suspend driving privileges for nonpayment of traffic fines or court nonappearance without considering the individual’s ability to pay, affecting millions in the United States. To investigate the impact of such suspensions, we surveyed people in North Carolina (N = 853), a state with large numbers of such suspensions. Eighteen percent of respondents having had a suspended license, with race and low income predicting higher suspension rates, and increased difficulty for daily activities and ability to pay for housing. Thus, suspension policies are of questionable deterrence value and little public safety benefit, but impose great hardship for minor offenses. We offer abolishing suspension policies for non-safety reasons as the easiest policy change, as well as other incremental options. Restoration efforts for those affected should also be implemented, despite challenges in contacting those affected and providing procedures to get their license back. As such, comprehensive local-level efforts, which we describe, are likely necessary to address the challenges and harms associated with driver’s license suspensions.

摘要

低水平的刑事执法对社区的影响一直是越来越多的学术和政策工作的主题，并且人们意识到即使是轻微的犯罪也会造成难以承受的刑事债务并对其他权利产生负面影响。许多司法管辖区在不考虑个人支付能力的情况下暂停未支付交通罚款或未出庭的驾驶特权，影响了美国数百万人。为了调查此类停学的影响，我们调查了北卡罗来纳州的人们 ( N = 853), 一个有大量此类暂停的州。18% 的受访者被吊销驾照，种族和低收入预示着更高的吊销率，以及日常活动的难度和支付住房的能力增加。因此，暂停政策的威慑价值值得怀疑，对公共安全的好处也很小，但对轻微违法行为却造成了极大的困难。我们提供出于非安全原因废除暂停政策作为最简单的政策变更，以及其他增量选项。尽管在联系受影响的人和提供程序以取回他们的执照方面存在挑战，但也应该为受影响的人进行恢复工作。因此，我们描述的全面的地方层面的努力，