St. Louis county is the armpit of Missouri, and most people know it. But in all fairness to them, it's not just a matter of towns preying on poor black people. Across the border from Kansas City is Johnson County, KS. A number of years ago Johnson County spent an enormous sum of money on a new county jail. Once they got it running - it was highly automated and it took a couple of years to get the bugs worked out enough for it to be used - they realized that they had this huge facility and large staff...for a county with comparatively little crime. So they started sentencing people to jail time for comparatively minor offenses. Convictions that will get you probation in Jackson County, Mo. will get you jail time in Johnson County. DUI offenses that will get you suspended sentences in other counties get you sent to jail in Johnson County. And they particularly like to sentence people to work release for DUI or small drug violations or other minor offenses rather than house arrest. That's because they charge you room and board for staying in the work release facility. How much depends on your income but it averages over $300 a month per inmate for a facility that holds several hundred. And which is constantly filled.
So really the only difference between the communities in St. Louis County and the good folks in Johnson County is that the Missouri towns just think small.
I lived in St Louis from 88 to 92.
I road a commuter bus partly because of this.
There are so many townships, half the time you don’t know what town you’re in.
And if you get stopped, the cop writes you a ticket, the confiscates your license to ensure you pay your fine. You drive around without a license until your court date, or until you go to that town and pay the fine.
This happened to a few friends I worked with.
Our offices were located out near the airport, most everybody took the long way around via the inter-state to avoid all the locals.