The Top 10 Bail Stats of All Time
Part 2 (#5 through #1)
We hope that you enjoyed last week’s list of top bail statistics #10 – #6. Understanding these important statistics is essential for anyone looking to successfully debate criminal justice and bail reform policy. Secured bail has outperformed unsecured bail in every legitimate peer reviewed study. Knowing these stats off the top of your head will prepare you to discuss bail with anyone. We hope these next 5 stats help you even more. In our opinion, they are some of the best and most impactful proof of the effectiveness of secured release.
#5. Surety Bail Prevents Fugitives from Escaping Justice.
When surety defendants did fail to appear, they were 53% less likely to remain at large for extended periods.
#4. Surety Bail Outperforms Free Release Regardless of Defendant and Case Differences.
After statistical controls, predicted FTA probability was 20% for surety bonds versus 24% for ROR and 28% for unsecured bonds. The advantage for surety bonds does not disappear once you account for differences in who gets which type of release.
Cohen & Reaves Study – Bureau of Justice Statistics
#3. Surety Bail is Much More Effective Than Free Release Especially with Felony Cases.
Felony defendants not released on commercial bonds were 39–56% more likely to fail to appear than carefully matched commercial-bond defendants.
#2. Surety Bail Gets Defendants to Court…Period.
Defendants released on surety bonds were 28% less likely to fail to appear than similar defendants released on their own recognizance.
#1. Surety Bonds Outperform ALL Forms of Release in the 75 Largest Counties Across the Country.
Surety bonds had an 18% FTA rate — the lowest among major release types — for felony defendants in the 75 largest U.S. counties.
Cohen & Reaves National Study, 1990–2004
While there are still so many statistics that support surety bail over other forms of release, we think that the 10 stats that we shared are the most impactful and compelling.
Want to review the full countdown of the top 10 bail statistics? Read #10 through #6 in Part 1.
