Program Profile: Text Message Reminder Nudge for Defendants (Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom)

This is a text-messaging program designed to remind defendants about upcoming court dates. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant differences between treatment and control group defendants in attendance at their first scheduled court hearing and in the number of failure-to-appear warrants issued.

A No Effects rating implies that implementing the program is unlikely to result in the intended outcome(s) and may result in a negative outcome(s).

This program's rating is based on evidence that includes at least one high-quality randomized controlled trial.

Program Goals/Target Site

A defendant failing to appear at a mandated court hearing can be costly to the criminal justice system because of the loss of time and resources (Chivers and Barnes 2018). In an effort to reduce failure-to-appear (FTA) occurrences, courts within the Hampshire Constabulary policing area (in the central south of England) began sending text message reminders to defendants the day before their scheduled hearing. The Hampshire Constabulary, which includes the Isle of Wight, Southampton, and the surrounding area, has a population of approximately 1.94 million residents. The goal of text message reminder “nudges” for defendants who are due to appear in court is to improve compliance with court dates and reduce FTA warrant rates.

Program Theory

A text message reminder, or “nudge”’ is designed to be a light reminder, as opposed to more forceful means of compulsion and enforcement. The program is based on a choice architecture design, which posits that the context in which people make decisions can influence choices they make (Thaler and Sunstein 2009). Laws inform people how they are expected to behave, but that does not always result in  compliance. A nudge is presented as encouraging or subtly guiding them to make the best choice.

Services Provided

To remind the defendants of upcoming court dates, a personalized text is sent in the 24-hour period (typically between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.) before the appointment. This time was chosen to allow the defendants time to adjust plans and make arrangements if they have forgotten about the court date. The following message framework was used to structure the text:

“[FIRST NAME] Reminder [COURT TIME] @ [COURT TOWN] Magistrates Court tomorrow. Please attend, most people do & avoid arrest & separate penalty”

An example of the text can be found in Appendix 1 of the study conducted by Chivers and Barnes (2018).

Study 1

Chivers and Barnes (2018) conducted a randomized controlled trial in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom, between January and June 2017. A total of 946 defendants participated and were randomly assigned to the treatment group, which received text message reminders of an upcoming court date (n = 474), or the control group, who received the standard reminder through the post (n = 472). Text message reminders were sent the day before the court date, while postal requisitions were received generally 14 to 28 days in advance. Defendants were considered ineligible to participate in the study if they 1) were under the age of 14 years; 2) were detained in a prison, mental health facility, or secure youth facility and therefore had little choice in attending court dates; 3) were previously included in text message reminder studies; 4) were required to attend court through another method; or 5) had the option to plead guilty by post.

Of the participants in the treatment group, 82.5 percent were male and had an average age of 33.9 years at baseline. The average distance from the participants’ homes to the courthouse was 13.02 miles, and 40.5 percent had a previous conviction for failure-to-appear (FTA) at a court date. Investigators (police) had direct contact with 84.8 percent of the defendants in the treatment group. In the control group, 81.1 percent of the participants were male and had an average age of 34.1 years. The average distance from the participants’ homes to the courthouse was 14.4 miles, and 36.4 percent had a previous FTA conviction. Investigators had direct contact with 87.7 percent of the defendants in the control group. There were no statistically significant differences between the treatment and control groups at baseline.

Outcomes of interest included the rate of attendance at the participants’ first scheduled hearing and the number of FTA warrants issued. These data were obtained through court records. A chi-square test was conducted, and an odds ratio was calculated to determine the difference between the treatment and control groups. Subgroup analyses were conducted to determine the potential impact of age, investigator contact, distance from the courthouse, and previous FTA convictions on program outcomes.

Chivers and Barnes (2018) determined that the average cost to the police of a failure-to-appear (FTA) warrant was £130.69, not including the effort to locate a defendant, transport to custody centers, waiting times, transport to the court, detention at the court, or additional hearings. Using this figure, the average cost for each defendant in both the treatment and control groups was determined using a t test for independent samples. The average cost for each defendant in the treatment group was £31.70, compared with £29.35 for the control group. However, this difference was not statistically significant.

Chivers and Barnes (2018) conducted subgroup analyses to determine the potential effect of age, investigator contact, distance from the courthouse, and previous failure-to-appear (FTA) convictions on program outcomes. There were no statistically significant differences found between any of the subgroups in rate of attendance at the participant’s first scheduled hearing or number of FTA warrants issued.

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

Thaler, Richard, and Cass Sunstein. 2009. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness, First Edition. London, England: Penguin Books Ltd.