Will This New Ticket Get People to Go to Their Court Appearances?

Almost 40 percent of New Yorkers who got a ticket for minor infractions in 2014 never showed up to their mandated court appearances, according to a study. When they don't show up to court, the police have to get a warrant out for their arrest, which becomes a much bigger crime than just a fine paid for a minor infraction.

This is a pain for everyone — the ticketed person, the police and the government. That's why the non-profit ideas42 teamed up with New York City officers, the city's mayoral office and the court system to figure out how to get people to actually show up to court when they're supposed to. They drafted a new, clearer ticket form that the NYPD is now using across the city, Jon Hayes, senior associate at ideas42, told Patch.

Ideas42, a company that conducts experiments on subtle sociological changes in order to make people's lives easier, drafted completely new ticket forms that people would receive when they break the law.

The primary goal of the study was actually to reduce the number of warrants police have for low-level infractions because they create a messy backlog for the NYPD, Hayes said.

The most important change they made to the form, according to Hayes, was moving the time, date and location for a court appearance up to the top. It was also vital to really spell out the consequences for someone who doesn't appear in court, which the old form didn't have at all. Now, the form states clearly: "To avoid a warrant for your arrest, you must show up for court."

The title was changed from simply "Complaint/Information" to the more explicit, "Criminal Court Appearance Ticket." Ideas42 added a help site and phone number for the person receiving the ticket to consult for more information.

"Of course challenges will remain for some people in getting to court," Hayes said. "Perhaps they have inflexible work hours or no access to childcare. That’s why the courts are experimenting and looking at things like extended hours on certain days of the week."

The ideas42 study was funded by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, a philanthropic entity.

What do you think, would the new one get your butt to court like the old one didn't?

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