New research led by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) and MDRC indicates that each additional $100 in cumulative court fees for criminal cases is associated with an additional 34 jail detentions per 100,000 people at the county level. This small but significant increase suggests that fee increases could increase detention rather than deter it.
Counties often say local fee increases are needed to offset costs associated with processing criminal cases. Counties also pay the cost of housing people in their jails. This research suggests that new revenue from local fee increases should be weighed against the new costs (both social and fiscal) from housing more people in jail.