Ferguson Feeds Off the Poor: Three Warrants a Year Per Household

[decocker 7,198]

The immediate explanation is that the bulk of the cases arise from car stops. The ArchCity Defenders report notes: “Whites comprise 29% of the population of Ferguson but just 12.7% of vehicle stops. After being stopped in Ferguson, blacks are almost twice as likely as whites to be searched (12.1% vs. 6.9%) and twice as likely to be arrested (10.4% vs. 5.2%).”

Lest anyone contend that blacks inherently merit greater police attention than whites, the report offers another statistic.

“Searches of black individuals result in discovery of contraband only 21.7% of the time, while similar searches of whites produce contraband 34.0% of the time.”

That would suggest both that whites were more likely to be stopped when there was actual probable cause and that blacks were more likely to be stopped when there was not. And the antagonism sure to be generated by such racial disparities was magnified by the sheer number of cases.

The report cites a court employee as saying the docket for a typical three-hour court session has up to 1,500 cases. The report goes on to say that “in addition to such heavy legal prosecution,” the Ferguson court and others like it in nearby towns “engage in a number of operational procedures that make it even more difficult for defendants to navigate the courts.”

The report goes on, “For example, a Ferguson court employee reported that the bench routinely starts hearing cases 30 minutes before the appointed time and then locks the doors to the building as early as five minutes after the official hour, a practice that could easily lead a defendant arriving even slightly late to receive an additional charge for failure to appear.”

The lawyers of ArchCity Defenders specialize in representing the indigent and the homeless. They noticed that many of their clients had multiple warrants on minor charges issued by municipal courts in Ferguson and the other 80 municipalities in St. Louis County that have their own courts and police.

“They didn’t just have one case, they had 10 cases,” says Thomas Harvey, the organization’s 44-year-old executive director.

The warrants too often precluded the clients from securing shelter and services, and access to job programs. The lawyers sought some remedy in the issuing courts.

“It kept being about the money,” Harvey recalls. “We were telling the court, ‘They don’t have any money because they’re homeless.’”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/22/ferguson-s-shameful-legal-shakedown-three-warrants-a-year-per-household.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Farticles+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Latest+Articles%29

[Boiler 43,434]

I lived in a small town that also does that, hardly a black person to be seen.

My assumption is that it is common, many Police Departments are self funding.

[decocker 7,198]

I lived in a small town that also does that, hardly a black person to be seen.

My assumption is that it is common, many Police Departments are self funding.

i think a lot of towns, the 'larger' town close to my home included, do this. this article isn't about ferguson feeding off of black people, it's about poor people. it's a larger issue than ferguson anyway..

Virginia Dickerson says she’s devoted the last three years to recovering from the drug problems that entangled her in the criminal justice system throughout her teens and 20s.

Now in her mid-30s, she’s been out of prison for more than a year, working 30 hours a week as a cook and server at a restaurant in Richland, Wash. She says she’s also looking for a full-time job, and volunteering for two organizations that help people overcome addictions and a third that provides arts programs to teens.

Still, if she fails to pay off the $8,000 in fines that she still owes county courts in southern Washington as a result of her arrests several years ago, she could end up right back in jail. District and Superior courts in Benton County ordered her to pay a total of $130 a month toward fines and fees stemming from two drug arrests in 2010 and 2011, one for possession of methamphetamines and the other for delivery. Dickerson was fined about $6,000 for her two drug charges, but has accrued about $2,000 in interest.

“I’ve done my time, and I’m doing anything in my power to clean up the wreckage of my past,” Dickerson said. “But I can’t pay the amount they want me to pay.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/12/debtors-prisons-report_n_4768320.html

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/22/ferguson-s-shameful-legal-shakedown-three-warrants-a-year-per-household.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Farticles+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Latest+Articles%29

"The immediate explanation is that the bulk of the cases arise from car stops. The ArchCity Defenders report notes: “Whites comprise 29% of the population of Ferguson but just 12.7% of vehicle stops. After being stopped in Ferguson, blacks are almost twice as likely as whites to be searched (12.1% vs. 6.9%) and twice as likely to be arrested (10.4% vs. 5.2%).”

Blacks commit an overwhelmingly disproportionate amount of crime in relation to their % of the population. Young black males are about 3% of the population yet account for over 40% of violent crime. i would think these stats would be even more skewed based on the crime by race stats.

[decocker 7,198]

"The immediate explanation is that the bulk of the cases arise from car stops. The ArchCity Defenders report notes: “Whites comprise 29% of the population of Ferguson but just 12.7% of vehicle stops. After being stopped in Ferguson, blacks are almost twice as likely as whites to be searched (12.1% vs. 6.9%) and twice as likely to be arrested (10.4% vs. 5.2%).”

Blacks commit an overwhelmingly disproportionate amount of crime in relation to their % of the population. Young black males are about 3% of the population yet account for over 40% of violent crime. i would think these stats would be even more skewed based on the crime by race stats.

i'm not interested in talking about "Blacks commit an overwhelmingly disproportionate amount of crime in relation to their % of the population" - that isn't why i posted the article. but if you'd like to go that route..keep reading on past your favorite sweet spot:

Lest anyone contend that blacks inherently merit greater police attention than whites, the report offers another statistic.

“Searches of black individuals result in discovery of contraband only 21.7% of the time, while similar searches of whites produce contraband 34.0% of the time.”

That would suggest both that whites were more likely to be stopped when there was actual probable cause and that blacks were more likely to be stopped when there was not. And the antagonism sure to be generated by such racial disparities was magnified by the sheer number of cases.

[Boiler 43,434]

I can guess the demographics will be somewhat skewed.

For example the TV coverage seemed to focus solely on Black faces, hard pushed to remember seeing any white faces yet they apparently make up 40% of the local population.

Wonder why, racist coverage?

[decocker 7,198]

I can guess the demographics will be somewhat skewed.

For example the TV coverage seemed to focus solely on Black faces, hard pushed to remember seeing any white faces yet they apparently make up 40% of the local population.

Wonder why, racist coverage?

um. no i think that the area in which everything is going down is predominately black. but i haven't seen any of the coverage on tv. tv rots your brain you know.

[Boiler 43,434]

I thought Ferguson was a small area. 120 blocks?

[Karee 4,189]

Governments should not be counting on fines as a funding source. It's an unfair revenue model. A $200 fine for a guy making 150k a year is peanuts. That's probably his bar tab or hooker expense for one night. A $200 fine for a guy making 10k a year is a lot of money.

[Boiler 43,434]

21% of Fergusons total income.

[decocker 7,198]

Governments should not be counting on fines as a funding source. It's an unfair revenue model. A $200 fine for a guy making 150k a year is peanuts. That's probably his bar tab or hooker expense for one night. A $200 fine for a guy making 10k a year is a lot of money.

making people pay probabtion fees is another shady practice some states have adopted..

We turn now to an unexpected consequence of getting caught up in the justice system. By now, many people know that getting involved in a criminal proceeding can be expensive. But they're probably thinking about attorneys' fees. What you might not know about - unless you've been there - are the other fees that are increasingly being charged to defendants when they go through court or to prison or receive probation or parole.

Fees for things like home detention and probation services, even public defenders are leaving some poor defendants thousands of dollars in debt.

http://www.npr.org/2014/05/22/314875465/poor-people-can-pay-twice-after-committing-a-crime

[GBCW 397]

Governments should not be counting on fines as a funding source. It's an unfair revenue model. A $200 fine for a guy making 150k a year is peanuts. That's probably his bar tab or hooker expense for one night. A $200 fine for a guy making 10k a year is a lot of money.

funny that is how the comunists justify progressive taxation

fair tax is the only way

[Karee 4,189]

making people pay probabtion fees is another shady practice some states have adopted..

http://www.npr.org/2014/05/22/314875465/poor-people-can-pay-twice-after-committing-a-crime

Not only that, drug and alcohol offenders have to go to these useless classes. In order to get certified to teach these classes the instructors or firms teaching them have to buy the teaching materials from the State. They cost a fortune. They then turn around and charge the folks on probation. It's primarily a money making endeavor for the state. If a few here or there get something out of it, bonus. If they get busted again we really to get to charge them. The ironic thing is that what seems to help folks the most are things like AA/NA and MADD victim impact programs. AA/NA is just about free, and the victim impact thing is like $30. Of course the state doesn't have it's greedy little hands in it (yet), so that's probably why they're free.

FYI that blindfolded lady holding the scales is just for show. Money=Justice.

[decocker 7,198]

Not only that, drug and alcohol offenders have to go to these useless classes. In order to get certified to teach these classes the instructors or firms teaching them have to buy the teaching materials from the State. They cost a fortune. They then turn around and charge the folks on probation. It's primarily a money making endeavor for the state. If a few here or there get something out of it, bonus. If they get busted again we really to get to charge them. The ironic thing is that what seems to help folks the most are things like AA/NA and MADD victim impact programs. AA/NA is just about free, and the victim impact thing is like $30. Of course the state doesn't have it's greedy little hands in it (yet), so that's probably why they're free.

FYI that blindfolded lady holding the scales is just for show. Money=Justice.

my son's father got a simple possession charge in 2009. he's been paying fines related to that ever since. granted, he doesn't work regularly but in his defense (which i don't like to do) he lives with his parents in the middle of nowhere, his license was taken away so he can't drive to and from work when he does manage to pick up some. so..what does he do? takes his mom's car and drives anyway. for as much as he makes excuses, some of them are legitimate. plus, after you go a few years with no ability to handle any of your responsibilities - you get depressed you know? people get trapped in a vicious cycle.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

"The immediate explanation is that the bulk of the cases arise from car stops. The ArchCity Defenders report notes: “Whites comprise 29% of the population of Ferguson but just 12.7% of vehicle stops. After being stopped in Ferguson, blacks are almost twice as likely as whites to be searched (12.1% vs. 6.9%) and twice as likely to be arrested (10.4% vs. 5.2%).”

Blacks commit an overwhelmingly disproportionate amount of crime in relation to their % of the population. Young black males are about 3% of the population yet account for over 40% of violent crime. i would think these stats would be even more skewed based on the crime by race stats.

You should make this under your signature as well.