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<\/a>Over the past several weeks, the news media has been pushing out stories touting the success of bail reform efforts.\u00a0In Los Angeles, they adopted a new ZERO bail policy, and now release most defendants with no bail.\u00a0They claim that in only 3 short months, the new policy is working great<\/a>.<\/p>\n( https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/opinion\/story\/2024-03-01\/editorial-bad-news-for-reform-opponents-courts-no-bail-program-is-working-well?fbclid=IwAR3uZ2HJcSVFsViUYkxbhaevdKjPw8HdVbxSG04Ve3n3Ne29F89mb64KW2Y).<\/p>\n
In Illinois, they removed the use of financially secured release (cash bail) completely.\u00a0And just like Los Angeles, they are out in the media telling everyone how wonderful everything is working.\u00a0\u00a0They say Bail Reform has reduced the jail population and reduced crime\u2026and they have the research that shows it<\/a>.<\/p>\n So here is the research that tells them bail reform is working.\u00a0The jail population in Illinois is down 12%.\u00a0And the amount of people being accused of non-violent crimes has reduced 21%.\u00a0That\u2019s it.\u00a0That is success.\u00a0Letting a bunch more arrestees out of jail, and less people reporting non-violent crimes.\u00a0I\u2019m sorry but these are not success metrics.\u00a0If you want to have less people in jail\u2026just open up the door\u2026I am sure that will be faster and cheaper than the current taxpayer funded jailbreak Illinois citizens are funding.\u00a0We seemed to forget the purpose of jails.\u00a0Jails are designed to hold people accused of committing crimes.\u00a0If they are full, it is not because the bail system is unfair.\u00a0It is for one reason and one reason only\u2026because people are committing more crimes.<\/p>\n The solution to too much crime can\u2019t simply be empty the jails or decriminalize existing crimes so they are no longer tracked.\u00a0That type of solution is a mirage.\u00a0It is a manipulation of numbers that doesn\u2019t solve anything, but rather allows our elected officials to make outrageous and disingenuous claims, like crime is down and we are safer.\u00a0But we all know the reality of what is happening on our streets, and we aren\u2019t safer\u2026\u00a0but at least the jails are less full.<\/p>\n At the end of the day, do we really need to see their manufactured research anyway?\u00a0I don\u2019t know about you, but I always find the best approach to judging things is relying on common sense.\u00a0I don\u2019t stick my hand in a fire because I know it would hurt.\u00a0You can tell me all day long that you have a research study saying that it won\u2019t hurt, but I am going to rely on my common sense.\u00a0Bail reform is just like the fire example.\u00a0You can tell me all day long that it is working, but I am going to rely on my common sense. If you release an accused criminal from jail on simply their pinky promise to stay out of trouble and show up to court, and then tell me that I am now going to be safer,\u00a0I am going to have to disagree.\u00a0Why? Because it defies common sense.\u00a0People who are accused of committing crimes, are not just going to stop committing crimes because you were \u201cmore fair\u201d to them.\u00a0Instead, they are going to take advantage of you and that is exactly what is happening.\u00a0People who are being released from jail for free are taking advantage of these soft on crime policies and instead of acting on their best behavior like the pinky promise they swore, they are going out and committing more crimes.\u00a0In New York, where bail reform has been a complete failure, 66% of the people released are committing a new crime.\u00a0But don\u2019t worry, at least the jails are less full.<\/p>\n The problem with bail reform policies is that they completely ignore the fact that a large majority of people who break the law are not good people.\u00a0They do not have the moral compass that most law abiding citizens do.\u00a0They are people that need to be held accountable.\u00a0If you remove the chance of punishment, they will take advantage of the system.\u00a0That is what is happening in New York with 66% of the people reoffending.\u00a0That is what is happening in Houston, Texas, where over 80% of defendants who are released on a FREE release<\/a> are not returning to court.\u00a0That is what is happening in California, where 78% of the people released on ZERO bail<\/a> reoffend and where people released on ZERO bail are committing violent crimes 200% more often.\u00a0But don\u2019t worry, at least the jails are less full.<\/p>\n The time has come for everyone, not just bail agents, to start challenging our legislators and these dishonest bail reform activists.\u00a0We need to start calling them and their policies out for their empty promises and ultimate failures.\u00a0When large retailers start closing stores and pulling out of communities, we are not safer.\u00a0When we defund police departments and decriminalize felonies, we are not safer.\u00a0When we remove all accountability from the pretrial release system, we are not safer.\u00a0And when we applaud the fact that our jails have less people in them, we are definitely not safer.\u00a0We need fewer nonsensical bail reform policies and more common sense across the board.\u00a0Only then can we begin to have an honest debate on how to best hold criminals accountable and how to best keep our families safe.<\/p>\n