![]() ![]() Many jurisdictions have made misdemeanors and other low-level, nonviolent charges ineligible for cash bail, requiring judges to consider additional release options, such as release on recognizance or release with conditions. 25 After 23 hours in pretrial incarceration, any additional time in detention has been “associated with a consistent and statistically significant increase in the likelihood of rearrest.” 26 24 One study found that cash bail assignment was associated with a 6 percent to 9 percent increase in recidivism. 23Īt the same time, numerous studies show pretrial incarceration has a “criminogenic effect,” meaning that it increases rather than decreases crime. And after cash bail reform was passed in New Mexico and Yakima County, Washington, a larger percentage of people completed the pretrial process without a new arrest. Cook County, Illinois, 19 Harris County, Texas, 20 Kentucky, 21 and Philadelphia 22 similarly maintained stable re-arrest rates before and after reforms were implemented. In New York, 15 New Jersey, 16 Washington, D.C., 17 and Santa Clara County, California, 18 for example, at least 99 percent of people completed the pretrial period without an arrest for a serious crime. In places that have implemented cash bail reform, rates of pretrial re-arrest remain unchanged. Reducing reliance on cash bail has not led to a decrease in public safety. While some attempt to paint cash bail reform as dangerous and cash bail as a tool for public safety, evidence from jurisdictions that have reformed their cash bail practices tells a different story. 14 As a result of excessive cash bail, hundreds of thousands of people are incarcerated each year not due to any real public safety concern, but rather due to a lack of money. 13 The number of people incarcerated pretrial increased 433 percent from 1970 to 2015, almost entirely due to increases in cash bail assignments, the amount of money assigned by the court that a person must pay to secure their release. At the same time, 80 percent of people in local jails in the United States have not been convicted of a crime. More than 95 percent of crime in the United States is nonviolent the vast majority of people who are arrested can safely await their trial in the community versus behind bars. Although there is no evidence linking cash bail reform to high crime rates-and a plethora of evidence to the contrary 5-cash bail reform has become an easy target for politicians looking to demonstrate they are taking action to address violent crime. 4 These concerning trends are taking place in cities and towns nationwide, regardless of their history with cash bail reform. Violent crime has been rising across the country since 2020, primarily driven by greater gun violence. However, rising crime rates and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic changed the national narrative around cash bail reform. 2 Law enforcement and prosecutors have joined the ranks of cash bail reform proponents, recognizing that wealth-based decision-making is unjust, erodes public trust, and is not effective at maintaining public safety. 1 In communities large and small, representing individuals from across the political spectrum, efforts to reform cash bail systems have proved successful at both maintaining public safety and reducing the harms of pretrial incarceration. There was broad recognition that mass, pretrial incarceration was driven by archaic cash bail systems, causing a variety of negative consequences for individuals and communities. ![]() Until recently, jurisdictions across the United States saw growing support for reforms to the pretrial system.
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