When we talk about mass incarceration, the first image that comes to mind for many is a prison cell door, slamming shut. But while Missouri state prisons incarcerate over 23,000 people, the primary form of incarceration that people face is the one closest to home: detention in local and county jails. There are approximately 9,800 Missourians held in local jails on any given night, and over 128,000 different Missouri residents cycle through jail throughout the course of a year. Nationally, one in three Americans behind bars is incarcerated in a local jail. Three in five people in jail have not been convicted of a crime, meaning they are in pretrial detention, alongside people serving sentences shorter than one year (per Missouri law), or people otherwise being held in county facilities, such as people charged with parole or probation violations, and federal or immigration related holds. While the number of annual jail admissions has doubled in the past three decades, the average length of incarceration has also increased, from 14 to 23 days.
The impact that just a single night in jail can have on an individual, and those that depend on them, cannot be overstated. In a previous role before coming to Empower Missouri, I worked for an organization that did bail out relief, posting bonds and providing follow up support to low-income individuals that were unable to pay the price the court had set on their freedom. While working to provide bail assistance, I saw people lose everything – jobs, housing, even custody of their children – due to so-called “short” stints of incarceration in jail for low level offenses. Many of the people I posted bond for were jailed not for a new alleged offense but for a “failure to appear” (FTA), meaning they missed a court date and a warrant had been issued for their arrest. In many cases, they had not been incarcerated after their initial arrest, or had never been arrested to begin with and were jailed instead over traffic tickets or municipal ordinance violations. People missed court for a myriad of reasons, including lacking transportation or childcare, being unable to take time off work for fear of losing employment, being hospitalized or detained elsewhere, and, for many, simply not being aware of their court date. There are many policies that impact jail incarceration, but one solution that Empower Missouri is advancing is the expansion of court reminders, a simple and effective tool to reduce FTAs and in turn reduce the number of people filling our local jails.
Court Reminders as a Tool to Decrease Jail Populations and Save Taxpayer Dollars
“It’s easy for judges to issue warrants but their consequences can devastate people’s lives. Making courts more accessible through text reminders allows the Court to resolve more cases by increasing appearances and also reduces the burden on people who are already facing significant challenges. It’s a win-win.”
–Judge Courtney Wachal, Kansas City Municipal Court
Court reminders reduce nonappearance rates by up to 61%, according to research from Pew Charitable Trusts. Missouri already utilizes a free court reminder system, called “Track This Case.” The program initially launched in 2016. For the first year of the program, Track This Case only offered email reminders, before adding text reminders to the program the following year. However, the system is only accessible through Missouri’s open records portal, Case.net. Potential users of the system must look up their case on the website and then click through a series of prompts to opt-in to email and/or text reminders. Reminders are offered for ten days and two days before scheduled court “events” and/or for two days ahead of payment due dates for court fines and fees. The current system presents a barrier to individuals of all backgrounds, such as those without reliable internet access or with limited tech literacy, and people escaping domestic violence or other situations who may be frequently moving. Most significantly, and most avoidably, the opt-in system can only assist people who have been informed of its existence and are aware of how to use it.
It remains a bit of a mystery how people are learning about this program and choosing to participate in it. We have spoken with public defenders in the state who say that they do routinely encourage clients to use the tool to ensure that they remember to attend court appearances and keep current on payments. However, only a small handful of individuals who would benefit from the program are assigned a public defender. To our knowledge, there is no system for law enforcement to inform individuals about the Track This Case program when they are writing a citation that contains a court date, a key time for information to be shared about this tool, and contact information (such as a phone number) collected. That is why we are advocating for a system that would automatically enroll defendants and other court involved users in Track This Case, rather than requiring people to opt in.
In addition to unnecessary jail time, missed court appearances cost millions of dollars in resources and contribute to government inefficiency. According to research from ideas42, each missed court appearance costs states approximately $2,800 per case. Studies have found that using automated court reminders could save states millions annually in FTA-related costs while also leading to increased government efficiency. Missouri already has the necessary infrastructure with Track This Case, meaning that the associated costs for transitioning to an opt-out system, rather than an opt-in system, would be minimal. For Missouri policymakers looking to save money and cut out inefficiencies, expanding the use of court reminders is a clear-cut policy solution.
Nationally, 17% of felony cases and up to 52% of misdemeanor cases involve a missed court appearance (Court Appearance Rate Report, 2024). FTAs are one of the primary drivers of jail incarceration. Improving court appearance rates are an effective way to reduce the number of people cycling through Missouri jails, while paving the way for further reforms of inaccessible court processes and unjust and unnecessary detention. Empower Missouri is spearheading a pilot project to advance the use of automated court reminders in our state. We are currently in an information gathering stage, administering a questionnaire to circuit clerks across the state, along with having conversations with other key stakeholders. We welcome Missourians with personal experiences of being impacted by missed court dates to share their stories online through our form here! And we hope you will stay tuned for more information and exploration of this issue in the months ahead, including during our 2025 Anti-Poverty Advocates Summit (November 18th – 19th in Columbia, MO).
Further Reading
States Underuse Court Date Reminders | The Pew Charitable Trusts
Appearance Rate Technical Assistance Report | National Center for State Courts
Millions of People in the U.S. Miss Their Court Date, With Dire Consequences | Vera Institute
Improving Court Attendance: The Essential Guide to Court Reminder Programs | ideas42
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