Structuring Criminal Fines: Making an “Intermediate Penalty” More Useful and Equitable

Abstract

Fueled by a decade of severe jail and prison overcrowding, a new surge of enthusiasm for nonincarcerative and “intermediate” penalties has emerged across the United States. Recent research on the imposition and administration of criminal fines in both America and Western Europe provides evidence the untapped potential of this penalty as a sentencing option which can provide flexibly structured sentences that are both proportionate and enforceable in a wide array of cases. To demonstrate this potential, planners at the Vera Institute of Justice, working in collaboration with officials of the criminal court in Staten Island, New York, designed and implemented an innovative adaptation of the European dayfine system, tailored to the needs of this busy, urban court.