Inability to Hold Offenders Results in Increased Failure to Appear Charges

Happy Sunday, Lebanon, and you know what that means!? #SundayStats, of course! And here's a number worth paying attention to: Failure to Appear (FTA) charges in Lebanon have increased 156 percent since 2020 to 2024. In 2020, our Lebanon Municipal Court had 95 FTAs, and fast forward to 2024 and we're up to 243 FTAs for that year. (Remember, the jail closed in 2023.)

That's an increase of 148 charges, and it's important to remember these happen when someone is ticketed for a crime and does not show up to their court date. And when the court is in session weekly, that's quite a jump.

This is why it's important to hold people accountable. A municipal jail isn't about being punitive for the sake of being punitive. It's about having a local tool to help enforce that accountability, and make sure charges have consequences. Help us pass the levy to Reopen the Lebanon Jail this November by voting yes.