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60 days in jail for not paying a $2.75 subway fare costs the city $22,000

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Re: 60 days in jail for not paying a $2.75 subway fare costs the city $22,000

#21

Post by free652 »

uxp100 wrote: post #11

"I could demonstrate to you that every single bank robbery, that in every single case practically, the cost of the police was more than the actual money that the robbers took from the bank. Does that mean, 'Oh, you see, there's really no economic interest involved, then. They're not protecting the banks. The police are just doing this because they're on a power trip, or they're macho, or they're control freaks, that'…

But it didn't cost $22,000. If he didn't go to a jail would the city save $22k?

The city lost $215,000,000 in revenue due to the fare evasion.

Re: 60 days in jail for not paying a $2.75 subway fare costs the city $22,000

#22

Post by gabelevi »

tus87 wrote: post #4

Well broken windows worked didn't it? NYC went from being the most dangerous city in the US to one of the safest.

Crime in NYC did drop precipitously, but it's not clear that broken windows policing was the cause. It's been studied and debated a lot, but as far as I can tell there isn't a clear consensus. Here are some sources:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_windows_theory#New_York... * https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/13/why-did-crime-...

Re: 60 days in jail for not paying a $2.75 subway fare costs the city $22,000

#24

Post by Chris_Chambers »

uxp100 wrote: post #11

"I could demonstrate to you that every single bank robbery, that in every single case practically, the cost of the police was more than the actual money that the robbers took from the bank. Does that mean, 'Oh, you see, there's really no economic interest involved, then. They're not protecting the banks. The police are just doing this because they're on a power trip, or they're macho, or they're control freaks, that'…

“Hey everybody, I like crust punk, look at me” - the post.

Re: 60 days in jail for not paying a $2.75 subway fare costs the city $22,000

#25

Post by free652 »

ram_rar wrote: post #23

Can someone explain it to me, why in SF its treated as a minor ticket similar to overdue parking meters as apposed to NYC where people are jailed for not having a valid ticket ? Never thought NYC could be soo ridiculous.

Because it's usually fined $100, that means something else is going on.

Re: 60 days in jail for not paying a $2.75 subway fare costs the city $22,000

#27

Post by Tsubasachan »

jameskilton wrote: post #12
brianpgordon wrote: post #8

I don't know enough to take a position on this issue one way or another, but I think it should be pointed out that expensive jail time for a few people could serve as a deterrent that results in enough increased fare revenue to offset the cost.

This line of thinking has two serious problem: it assumes that people 1) Actually intentionally break the law as a choice and 2) Actually think about the consequences of their actions And to a lesser extent, this ignores the subset of circumstances where people forget to pay, actually do pay but the payment gets lost, or can't afford to pay but need to get places. This is why 3-strike rules are abject failures (life…

Neither of those points is an excuse for breaking the law unless you're mentally ill. In which case you should still be locked up but this time in a mental institution.

Just pay for your ticket or walk.

Re: 60 days in jail for not paying a $2.75 subway fare costs the city $22,000

#29

Post by cardamomo »

cellis wrote: post #20

That $22000 amounts to good wages for everyone involved, though. A lot of people eating off the taxpayer for that one arrest, so less incentive to "fix" the problem. It's only a problem to the taxpayer, and to the taxpayer, it's worth it to stick it to that guy who jumped the fare even if it costs tons of money because it's unfair ( I paid, you didn't ). This is pretty fundamental human psychology.

It most certainly does not amount to good wages for the person who is in jail for not paying a $2.75 fare. Their 60 days in jail will have long-lasting implications on their livelihood for the rest of their life. There are grave "collateral consequences" we must consider. (Read https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2512920 for more on what this looks like.)

Re: 60 days in jail for not paying a $2.75 subway fare costs the city $22,000

#30

Post by addicted »

free652 wrote: post #21
uxp100 wrote: post #11

"I could demonstrate to you that every single bank robbery, that in every single case practically, the cost of the police was more than the actual money that the robbers took from the bank. Does that mean, 'Oh, you see, there's really no economic interest involved, then. They're not protecting the banks. The police are just doing this because they're on a power trip, or they're macho, or they're control freaks, that'…

But it didn't cost $22,000. If he didn't go to a jail would the city save $22k? The city lost $215,000,000 in revenue due to the fare evasion.

That assumes people would pay the money otherwise. Which is almost certainly not true.

The people who don’t pay likely don’t have the money in the first place or are drunk. It’s unlikely they would have paid any ways.

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