PULLMAN, WA – A team of Washington State University researchers is exploring a critical question in the state’s legal system: Why are rates of incarceration rising in rural county jails, while dropping in urban ones?
What they’ve found in examining data covering six rural counties over six years is that a significant proportion of those held in jails are there for missing court appointments or breaking other rules of the legal system — not for committing crimes against people or property. And a lack of resources such as sufficient defense attorneys or easily accessible case information is contributing to the problem.
The Washington Rural Jails Network (WRJN) is a community-engaged research initiative addressing the rising rates in rural jail incarceration. WSU sociology professors participating in the project conduct first-person interviews and analyze statistics to address the causes and consequences of arrests and jail stays.
Data gathered from six counties from 2015 through 2021 indicates the most common reason people were booked into jail pretrial was for penalties incurred while navigating the criminal legal system. In four of the Washington counties studied, between 30 and 38% of all pretrial bookings were due to a failure to appear in court, an unpaid fine from earlier detention, or not complying with another legal system rule.
“There’s a real lack of legal resources, by which I mean defense attorneys and case resolution information,” said Jennifer Schwartz, one of the co-investigators and a sociology professor at WSU.
Schwartz is a criminologist who analyzes statistical rates of community crime patterns. Her co-investigator Jennifer Sherman, also a sociology professor at WSU, studies rural communities and poverty patterns in the Pacific Northwest.
“There is an interaction between the absence of resources in an area and an individual person’s inability to navigate the different avenues of the criminal legal system,” said Sherman. “There are urban areas that have similar issues, but it’s just endemic to these rural areas with the lack of mental health support, or actual heath support, or anything needed to help individuals navigate the system and get back on their feet post-arrest.”
The WRJN originated in 2019 and initially focused on gathering booking data from rural counties to learn why rural jail incarceration rates were rising while urban incarceration rates were falling.
“Unlike prison populations which are closely tracked, there aren’t any national data sets on the flow of county jail populations,” said Schwartz. “We engaged with the county sheriffs because we needed to not only convince them to work with us, but also share their data with us.”
The research team connected with sheriffs in six rural counties in Washington — Asotin, Ferry, Grant, Kittitas, Okanogan, and Whitman.
WRJN participants recognized common issues in their communities. Some rural residents miss legal notifications or cannot secure transportation for a scheduled court appearance, incurring a failure to appear charge, possible suspension of driver’s license, and subsequent warrant.
In 2021, Washington state ended mandatory suspension of driver’s licenses due to failure to pay fines. Since then, local courts can choose to exercise discretion when suspending or revoking driver’s licenses for nonpayment of court fines, as a suspended license only makes it more difficult for people to work, attend court appearances, or otherwise comply with pre-trial release conditions such as substance treatment.
WRJN sessions often begin with a brief introduction and data review. Attendees include law enforcement officers, jail staff, social service workers, local legal representatives, and recovery navigators with lived experience in the criminal-legal system. The conversation often focuses on current problems and potential communal approaches.
“When we get sheriffs and service providers talking with each other, they find ways to combine resources and elevate solutions for their communities,” said Sherman.
