If you already subscribe to AIA Insight, than you probably saw a great article in our “Special Pretrial Issue” sent Friday afternoon…if you don’t receive our Insight newsletter than you may have seen this article through another source. However, if you have no idea what I am referring to, please click here to see the Insight article summarizing the powerful WebMemo written by David Muhlhausen, Ph.D., the Senior Policy Analyst in the Center for Data Analysis at The Heritage Foundation, on how Pretrial Service Agencies are able to tap into funds provided through the “Economic Stimulus” program.
After reading this article, it is hard not to cringe with frustration and disbelief. The fact that our hard earned tax dollars are being spent to give grants to organizations that are designed to save money, but have only proven to do the complete opposite of that, is incredibly disheartening and flat out disappointing. I have written a couple blogs on Pretrial Release over the past few months, but I thought I would share my thoughts once again. At the same time, I invite everyone out there to comment and share their thoughts with me.
Anyone who has been in the bail bond industry for the past 30 years has seen these Pretrial Programs surface and disappear over and over again. However, today, it seems like wherever you turn there is another article on a county adding Pretrial Services or dropping Pretrial Services. Even though there is so much noise on the subject right now, the reality is that government sponsored pretrial release programs have never been able to stand up to their promises or hype. And the best part is, when asked to justify their existence; they are incapable of providing tangible statistics other than how much a jail bed costs or how many people who happen to be in jail. So, what is their solution? Let everyone out…