Thread by @mikemakowsky, I was given the opportunity to lay out a proposal to end [...]

I was given the opportunity to lay out a proposal to end law enforcement as a system of taxation by the good folks at @hamiltonproj and @BrookingsInst, which you can read here:

http://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/a_proposal_to_end_regressive_taxation_through_law_enforcement">https://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/a_...

So let& #39;s get into it, shall we?

1/18

First, a couple stylized facts. Revenues from fines, fees, & forfeitures have been on the rise for decades, both in real $ per cap and as a % of budgets. The numbers here actually undersell the problem - none of the national data include the proceeds from seized property 2/18

The criminal system extracts revenues from nearly everyone incarcerated. 3/18

Conviction of a crime/infraction is a sufficient, but not necessary condition for the system to generate revenue from an individual. Civil forfeiture laws are sufficiently permissive that state and local governments can generate significant revenues without a conviction. 4/18

$Conviction of a crime/infraction is a sufficient, but not necessary condition for the system to generate revenue from an individual. Civil forfeiture laws are sufficiently permissive that state and local governments can generate significant revenues without a conviction. 4/18$

Unlike most traditional taxes, however, law enforcement is highly regressive in its impact. a) Felony arrests disproportionately involve the poor b) The inability to quickly pay traffic/misdemeanor fines leads to higher penalties. 5/18

c) Arrestees who lack the resources to hire private legal representation are convicted at higher rates and incur harsher penalties, including large
financial penalties ( @amandayagan , Freedman, and Owens 2018). 6/18

There& #39;s no shortage of evidence of racial bias in the criminal justice system (cites in paper) What I& #39;ll note here is a self-reinforcing product of that bias: it becomes more fiscally profitable to arrest those against whom the system is biased. 7/18

So how do we change this? How do we engender revenue-neutral law enforcement, and in a way that is institutionally and politically feasible? Put simply, we dilute and, when possible, outright eliminate, the incentives in front of principals and officers reporting to them. 8/18

In the proposal, I start simple. PROPOSAL #1: End participation in federal equitable sharing programs. PROPOSAL #2: eliminate arresting agency retention of proceeds from seized property. These are good, but insufficient policies in pursuit of revenue-neutral law enforcement 9/18

PROPOSAL #3: Redistribute all criminal justice revenues as per capita municipal block grants. The diffusion of revenues across localities would sufficiently dilute, to the point of irrelevance, the revenue incentive behind any individual arrest. 10/18

The appeal of this policy is its *lack* of impact on the median municipality. The municipalities for whom this will serve as a major fiscal shock *are exactly* where we will find the law enforcement agencies and court systems we want to fundamentally realign & restructure 11/18

For states serious about ending the connection between law enforcement and revenue goals, who want to change the motivations underlying officer discretion, and make a public commitment to law enforcement as a service to the community, I offer something more ambitious 12/18

Proposal #4: A Public Safety Rebate. All revenues generated via law
enforcement to be pooled at the state level & rebated as a progressive transfer to the low-income constituents most likely to be victimized both by crime and historical inequities in law enforcement. 13/18

A Public Safety Rebate would end revenue incentives in a manner that is credible,, transparent, and immediately salient to the lives of low income individuals. The yearly pooling and transfer of funds would make it robust to fiscal workarounds.. 14/18

Perhaps most optimistically, I believe the PSR would rebuild trust. Every annual rebate would summarize for recipients pool of law
enforcement proceeds, their share,, and a breakdown of officer actions
that generated the proceeds 15/18

The commitment to serving the community rather than expropriating from it would constitute an important step in rebuilding the relationship between officers and the community they both serve and depend on for cooperation. 16/18

There& #39;s a lot more detail in the proposal, including questions, concerns, and discussion of the incredible body of research this is built from (only a small fraction of which I was involved in) http://www.hamiltonproject.org/assets/files/Makowsky_PP_20190314.pdf
17/18">https://www.hamiltonproject.org/assets/fi...

I also recommend the criminal justice fact sheet the @hamiltonproj put together (where several of the figures came from) http://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/nine_facts_about_monetary_sanctions_in_the_criminal_justice_system

and">https://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/ni... the fantastic proposal on graduated sanctions put together by @Beth_Colgan
http://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/addressing_modern_debtors_prisons_with_graduated_economic_sanctions_that_de

Thanks">https://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/ad... for reading!
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