Cohort 2024
New York City Criminal Justice Agency
Exploring How Travel Time Affects Missed Court Appearances
New York City, NY
In New York City, just over 14 percent of people who were released to the community awaiting disposition were served a bench warrant during the first half of 2023. People may miss court dates for a myriad of reasons, but insufficient awareness of court dates and social factors most likely play a role. In most states, failure to appear in court can have severe repercussions, including additional charges, arrest, and fines and fees. Black people are disproportionately likely to face barriers such as financial hardship that make it more difficult to appear in court. In addition to the punishment for individuals who fail to appear, another result of missed court dates is the costs to jurisdictions.
With Catalyst Grant funding, the New York City Criminal Justice Agency, the main pretrial services agency for New York City, will collect and analyze data on the city’s five boroughs to examine whether distance to court and travel time affect appearance at scheduled court dates differently in communities of color. The agency will consider the distance people awaiting trial must travel from home to criminal court and will analyze the interplay between economic hardship, social inequities, travel distances, and their effects on failure to appear. It will then use geographic information systems to map geospatial relationships to show how clients commute to court. These visual representations will be easily interpretable, making the findings accessible to policymakers, community leaders, and the public. The map and findings will serve as a powerful tool for advocating for more accessible court locations in urban and underserved areas.
