By: Isabelle Mercado
Local governments across America are becoming increasingly more dependent on the revenue generated from fining and arrests made by the police department. Awareness of this issue has spread as investigations concerning police brutality in places such as Ferguson, New York City, California, and Louisiana have revealed that government dependence on fine revenue leads to excessive targeting of low-level crimes, specifically on those committed by poor and underrepresented minorities.
As stated by New York City police officer Adhyl Polanco, “When you put any type of numbers on a police officer to perform, [they] are going to go to the most vulnerable [… they] are going to those people that have no [political] power.” Therefore, as a result of the pressure placed on local police departments to punish low-level crimes, there is a disproportionate number of poor and underrepresented minorities who are in jail.
In New York City, 75% of those in jail are only there because they can’t afford to pay their bail and 75% are also unconvicted. The practice of monetary bail “punishes people who cannot afford to pay for their liberty and acts as leverage to exact pleas from people who face the empty choice of pleading guilty in order to go home or insisting on their innocence and staying in jail.” Not only does monetary bail exacerbate the effects of poverty, as even short jail-time can result in people losing their jobs, housing, and custody of their kids, it also disenfranchises people of color since they are two times more likely to be stuck in jail and “receive higher bail amounts on average than white defendants with similar charges.”
An increase in public awareness of the shortcomings of monetary bail has led some states to start implementing more non-monetary bail alternatives, such as supervised release, ankle monitoring, and travel restrictions, which have already proven to be fairer, cost-effective alternatives for accused non-violent suspects. The implementation of non-monetary bail is proving to be a rewarding endeavor for local governments as well since it lowers incarceration rates, which helps alleviate local poverty and save substantial amounts of money which can then be spent on other government departments.
The benefits of bail reform have been observed in New Jersey, which just enacted a new bail system which requires judges to prioritize non-monetary release conditions, making the use of monetary bail “a last resort only.” In just the first 6 months, the number of people awaiting trial in New Jersey jails dropped by 20% and proceeded to drop more than 36% between mid-2015 and mid-2017. Crime rates have also fallen, with a 14% drop in general crime and a 7% drop in violent crime. Previously, the annual cost to incarcerate people who couldn’t afford to make bail was $125 million, with the average annual cost per inmate being $167,731. As the inmate population in jail decreases, poor and underrepresented suspects will be more fairly evaluated, and taxpayer revenue can be used to run other government departments.
Implementing non-monetary bail alternatives for low-level crimes would substantially benefit local governments and vulnerable communities alike, which is why it is critical that residents push and support local campaigns to introduce bail reform. With the highest Gini rate of inequality compared to all western countries and record income inequality, last seen a year before The Great Depression, it is apparent that the United States is facing a critical problem with poverty. The lives of vulnerable communities and our nation’s poor would benefit significantly from bail reform.
Unfortunately, under our current government, it is unlikely that significant bail reform can successfully be introduced and passed on the federal level. However, as more states pass and approve of bail reform, it is more likely to eventually be approved on the federal level. All important political change starts locally. Get involved in local campaigns for bail reform, call your representatives and express your support for the movement, protest, vote responsibly and stay informed. To learn more about justice reform efforts in your state and how you can get involved, visit www.vera.org/state-of-justice-reform/2017.
Sources:
- https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/7/7/15929196/police-fines-study-racism
- http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/pretrialdetainneltrsept2011.pdf
- https://www.vera.org/state-of-justice-reform/2017/bail-pretrial
- https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/the-dangerous-domino-effect-of-not-making-bail/477906/
- https://www.vera.org/state-of-justice-reform/2017/bail-pretrial
- https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/state-bail-system-grades_us_59f78f90e4b0aec1467a2708?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
- https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/state-bail-system-grades_us_59f78f90e4b0aec1467a2708?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
- http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/pretrialdetainneltrsept2011.pdf
- DeSilver, Drew. “U.S. Income Inequality, on Rise for Decades, Is Now Highest since 1928.”Pew Research Center, 5 Dec. 2013