More than half a million people experience pre-trial detainment each year in the U.S.

Though these people have not been convicted and sometimes haven’t even been charged, they are incarcerated and held on bail, which often totals thousands of dollars.

What can a person do if they, like most, don’t have the cash to pay their bond?

Since the Judiciary Act of 1789, which established protocol for bail in the U.S., bail bonds have provided detainees with a solution, and online bail bondsman services are available, too.

Recent legislative proposals threaten to change this, though, and implement ill-advised reforms.

Elimination of Pre-Trial Detention

The pandemic forced institutions to make major changes in service of public safety. The criminal justice system was not exempted from this, and at the onset of the pandemic, holding facilities struggled to manage their population while addressing the risks associated with overcrowding.

Implementation of social distancing protocol proved difficult — if not impossible — in the confined spaces of prisons and jails. There were few solutions in sight that would minimize inmate risk while maintaining protocol for pre-trial detention.

A petition to the Tennessee Supreme Court requested that many pre-trial detainees be released without posting bail due to the risks posed by the pandemic. The court ultimately deferred a decision and indicated that individual state judges should choose how to handle those held in pre-trial detention

Though this petition was made in an effort to protect the safety of inmates, it’s worth wondering how the elimination of pre-trial detention might affect the safety of the civilians living amongst newly released offenders.

Increase in Repeat Offenses

The elimination or reduction of pre-trial detention has been approved in jurisdictions outside Tennessee, and the results have been worrisome.

New York has often been lauded for leading bail reform efforts that reduce the number of pre-trial inmates, but data released from the New York Police Department reveals that hundreds of those who are released are rearrested within 60 days.

This raises the question of whether communities are safer with these offenders kept in custody until they post bail with help from an online bail bondsman.

This increase in repeat offenses is an often overlooked side effect of ill-advised bail reforms. It’s unsurprising, though, considering that more than half of all prisoners are re-incarcerated after their release.

While proponents of bail reform claim that it will help offenders eliminate pre-trial detention, the statistics indicate that early release does not, in fact, do inmates any favors. Indeed, studies confirm that recidivism rates are higher for inmates who do not post bail — thus putting both defendants and their communities at a greater risk.

Threat to Public Safety

New York’s aforementioned bail reform efforts garnered national attention. Some viewed it as an experiment to monitor, while others considered it a model to be followed. The elimination of pre-trial detention would seemingly necessitate some substitution to incentivize good behavior and protect public safety.

Ankle monitors or custodian check-ins might have offered a reasonable alternative, but in many cases, New York officials failed to implement any procedure for accountability. The high rate of rearrests may have something to do with this lack of reporting and responsibility.

With defendants released back into their communities, and no structure imposed to monitor their behavior, this could reasonably be considered a risk to public safety.

Though the aforementioned petition to the Tennessee Supreme Court did not seek the release of violent offenders, New York has become an example of the worst-case scenario, where elimination of pre-trial detention can ultimately put high-risk criminals back on the streets. This should be a concern for anybody considering bail reform efforts.

Find an Online Bail Bondsman

The criminal justice system is imperfect, but bail is one of the best mechanisms for reducing repeat offenses and keeping communities safe. Bad bail reform threatens defendants and civilians alike and could have disastrous consequences for Memphis.

If you’re looking for a reliable and reputable online bail bondsman in Memphis, TN, you can trust All-n-One Bail Bonds to help. All-n-One serves clients throughout the greater Memphis area, offering affordable, licensed, and insured services. Get help 24/7 by calling us or reaching out online.