Fines
Fines are a form of monetary punishment imposed as alternatives to incarceration or probation, gaining popularity for their efficiency and capacity to provide restitution to victims. Historically, fines have been a part of the criminal justice system for centuries, although their usage has fluctuated, particularly with the rise of prison sentences as a dominant form of punishment. In the United States, fines are commonly associated with minor offenses, such as traffic violations and certain white-collar crimes, and are generally viewed as less severe than incarceration. In contrast, many European countries prefer fines as a standard punitive measure, especially for property crimes. The increasing emphasis on fines in the U.S. is driven by concerns over the financial burden of correctional facilities and a desire to avoid exposing nonviolent offenders to harsher criminal influences. However, the implementation of fines raises important questions about equity, as they can disproportionately affect lower-income individuals compared to wealthier offenders. The debate surrounding the effectiveness and fairness of fines continues as they become more integrated into the American legal system.
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Fines
SIGNIFICANCE: Fines are popular sanctions that have been used as alternatives to probation and prison. They are also imposed on defendants when restitution is to be made to the victims of the crimes. Fines are not as popular in the United States as in European countries but are commonly used in the United States as punishments for traffic violations and white-collar crimes.
Monetary punishments have a long history in criminal justice, dating back to before ancient Rome. Through succeeding centuries, their use decreased as prisons were used more frequently to punish criminals, and as the belief in the effectiveness of deterrence-based policies. While deterrence policies focus on decreasing the likelihood that convicted criminals will repeat their crimes, fines fulfill the goals of greater efficiency and restitution. Indeed, fines are currently becoming more popular again in the United States, through the expansion of restitution programs and increasingly critical concern about the budgets of criminal justice correctional programs.
Fines provide a number of cost-effective advantages for criminal justice, while also providing alternatives to overburdened correctional programs, such as incarceration and probation. The financial cost of the prison system and probation programs have been a source of controversy, and some claim that they can increase the criminal tendencies of nonviolent criminals. By contrast, fines can provide a sense of justice whereby victims and governments are repaid for the offenders’ crimes, while sheltering nonviolent offenders themselves from more hardened criminals in the correctional system.
Fines are now most commonly used in the United States for minor offenses and for white-collar crime . This contrasts with their use in Europe, where fines are the preferred method of punishment for most offenses, particularly property crimes. The distinction between Europe and the United States may in part be due to the greater retributive desires of the American populace. Fines are viewed by many in the United States as too lenient to be assessed as punishments for most crimes, and ineffective as deterrents. The use of fines for punishment also generates much controversy because of the disproportionate punitive impact that they have on the rich and the poor.
Bibliography
"Assessing Fines and Fees in the Criminal Justice System." National Conference of State Legislatures, 20 Jan. 2020, www.ncsl.org/civil-and-criminal-justice/assessing-fines-and-fees-in-the-criminal-justice-system. Accessed 5 July 2024.
Burns, Ronald, and Michael Lynch. “Another Fine Mess . . . The Preliminary Examination of the Use of Fines by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.” Criminal Justice Review 27 (2002): 1-25.
Raine, John, Eileen Dunstan, and Alan Makie. “Financial Penalties as a Sentence of the Court: Lessons of Policy and Practice from Research Magistrates Courts of England and Wales.” Criminal Justice 3 (2003): 181-197.
Waldfogel, Joel. “Are Fines and Prison Terms Used Efficiently? Evidence on Federal Fraud Offenders.” Journal of Law and Economics 38 (1995): 107-139.
Waring, Elin. “Incorporating Co-offending in Sentencing Models: An Analysis of Fines Imposed on Antitrust Offenders.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology 14 (1996): 283-305.