{"id":12480,"date":"2025-05-15T08:03:56","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T15:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aiasurety.com\/bail\/?p=12480"},"modified":"2025-05-15T08:03:56","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T15:03:56","slug":"bail-reform-why-is-it-always-about-more-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aiasurety.com\/bail\/bail-reform-why-is-it-always-about-more-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Bail Reform: Why is it Always About More Money?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bail Reform: Why is it Always About More Money?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"pretrial-money\"Why do Bail Reform activists always need more taxpayer dollars for success? If a taxpayer funded pretrial program is struggling, the first reaction is for the programs leadership to say that they didn\u2019t have enough funding. Oh, if we only had more money, we could have been successful. The problem with this argument is that there isn\u2019t more money. Taxpayer dollars are limited. Unlike what most public sector groups are taught to believe, there is not a limitless pile of money that can continuously be thrown at their inefficient and ineffective programs. And if the overall concept of a program is bad, there is no amount of money that will make it better. And unfortunately, that has been the case for pretrial services for decades.<\/p>\n

This past week, there was an article in the Rochester Beacon<\/a>, written by the director of a county pretrial program. The article is titled, \u201cImproving Public Safety by Improving Pretrial Services.\u201d \u00a0First things first, the role of pretrial services is NOT to improve public safety. Especially in New York, where public safety is not something that is considered in any pretrial release decision. In New York, judges look at flight risk and flight risk only as a determination for release. So, if flight risk is the only determination being made for releasing someone from custody, then the ability to ensure they get back to court should be the attribute that you are looking for in an effective pretrial release mechanism. Unfortunately, taxpayer funded pretrial services does not qualify for that designation. Why? Because that is not their purpose. Their purpose is very specific. Help those that can\u2019t help themselves. Pretrial services was created to assist those individuals in the system who needed assistance because they were incapable of helping themselves. This includes people with mental health issues, people who are homeless, people who are truly indigent who have no family or social network in the community to rely on. It was not designed to protect the public. So, to say so is misleading.<\/p>\n

To be honest, a financially secured surety bail bond is not designed to protect the public either. It is purely an \u201cappearance\u201d bond. Which means that it is guaranteeing that the defendant will \u201cappear\u201d at all court cases. It is not guaranteeing that the defendant will not commit a crime. That being said, the process behind the issuance of a financially secured surety bail bond has a strong halo effect on public safety. Because bail agents are involving family in the transaction, they are creating a circle of love and influence around each defendant they bail out. This circle of love has the ability to not only influence the defendant\u2019s desire to show up for court, but it also influences their behavior to stay out of trouble. Why? Because the defendant does not want the people close to them to lose the bail money. But isn\u2019t the \u201cm\u201d word supposed to be bad and unfair. Despite what the bail reform activists tell us; money is a key component of why bail works. \u00a0When combined with loyalty to family, it creates the ultimate incentive for the defendant to both stay out of trouble and show up for court. That is what makes bail so effective and why the concept of bail has been around since biblical times.<\/p>\n

Back to pretrial services. Do I think that we need to disband all pretrial service agencies? No, I don\u2019t think that we do that. I think pretrial services has a purpose. And once again, that purpose is to help those that can\u2019t help themselves. But I must add that pretrial services must stay in its lane. It can\u2019t try to play the role of sole release mechanism in the criminal justice system. It is a less effective solution when applied to any defendant that falls outside of those that are indigent. \u00a0In a perfect world, pretrial services and surety bail co-exist together in the system. Each operating in the area that best suits them.<\/p>\n

So is more money the solution to a better taxpayer funded pretrial services system. I would argue no. I think the solution is to be more focused. More focused on helping those that truly need help and less focused on those that can bail out. More focused on mental health support and less focused on those that are habitual offenders. More focused on finding safe housing for the homeless and less focus on those that have strong ties to the community. And more focused on getting the indigent the help they need to get back on their feet while helping them through their trial and less focused on releasing everyone for free. Focus over money\u2026it is just that simple.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bail Reform: Why is it Always About More Money? Why do Bail Reform activists always need more taxpayer dollars for success? If a taxpayer funded pretrial program is struggling, the first reaction is for the programs leadership to say that they didn\u2019t have enough funding.… <\/p>\n

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