Files and links (2)
Published, Version of Record (VoR)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
A geospatial analysis of legal financial obligations, crime, and marginalization in Philadelphia
Journal of crime and justice
04 Mar 2026
Featured in Collection : Drexel's Newest Publications
Abstract
Legal financial obligations (LFOs) encompass a range of costs, surcharges, fines, fees, and restitution imposed during the justice process. Though research often highlights their negative impacts on individuals, questions remain about the broader community-level distribution of LFOs and the associated, wide-ranging effects of these financial burdens. Using ten years of data (2010 – 2020) from the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC), we examine the geospatial distribution of LFOs in Philadelphia and its correlation with community-level marginalization. The findings highlight significant disparities in the distribution of LFOs across Philadelphia, disproportionately affecting economically disadvantaged areas, areas with higher crime rates, and those with larger Black and Latino populations. Given this distribution, LFOs may function as an additional axis of concentrated disadvantage – not simply being a downstream outcome of inequality, but actively reproducing it at the neighborhood level. This analysis underscores the importance of considering community-level impacts and solutions in the broader conversation about LFO reform, and the inequitable burden of LFOs on communities.
Metrics
1 Record Views
Details
- Title
- A geospatial analysis of legal financial obligations, crime, and marginalization in Philadelphia
- Creators
- Jordan M Hyatt - Drexel University, Center for Public Policy
- Publication Details
- Journal of crime and justice
- Publisher
- TAYLOR & FRANCIS INC
- Number of pages
- 24
- Grant note
- Arnold VenturesCity of Philadelphia
The authors would like to thank the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office DATA Lab for their assistance with data collection and guidance, as well as Arnold Ventures and The City of Philadelphia for their financial support of the broader research agenda from which this study is drawn.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Criminology and Justice Studies; Center for Public Policy; Center for Science, Technology, and Society
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001706863400001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105032141544
- Other Identifier
- 991022170456404721