People tend to say that government budgets are political value statements – they represent choices made by our lawmakers about what to spend money on and what not to spend money on. The cost of relying on cash bail and incarceration comes at the expense of resourcing other supportive services like education, job training, supportive housing, and mental health care – services that, if fully-funded and provided at a greater scale, would address the root causes of crime and close the revolving door of the criminal justice system for good.
Our latest report focuses on the many detrimental “costs” – financial and otherwise – of incarcerating people pretrial. In this report, we estimate the incredible toll of our nation’s over-reliance on cash bail. After reading, you’ll more fully understand the magnitude and scale of this problem, as well as some of the solutions that can help Americans avoid the justice system altogether and create safer, healthier communities for all.
In this report, we hone in on the costs of pretrial incarceration by focusing on several key areas:
- Wasted taxpayer dollars;
- Impacts on people with mental illness;
- Heightening disparities for people of color;
- The decimation of voting rights; and
- The importance of providing services that address unmet needs
By investing in what we refer to in the report as “needs-based solutions,” we can not only improve outcomes for the tens of thousands of people incarcerated each day, but also save taxpayer dollars that could be better spent elsewhere. Of the nearly 30,000 people that The Bail Project has provided free bail assistance for, they have returned to 91% of their court dates. This has saved taxpayers as much as $20 million a year.
Looking for a better understanding of the fundamental issues driving today’s debates around cash bail and pretrial reform? Our growing publications library will equip you with some of the basics, help you access critical information to understand policies impacting the pretrial system, and introduce you to the solutions that can move us to a world where freedom is truly free and where the amount of money in someone’s bank account no longer determines whether they’re entitled to freedom pretrial.
We hope that this new report will not only help you better understand the many ways cash bail impacts our communities but also equip you with the many evidence-based and evidence-informed solutions that can replace the cash bail system and end this broken policy of unnecessarily incarcerating people simply because they can’t pay unaffordable cash bail.
We can have a world where freedom is truly free and without cash bail. The best way to do that is by making smart investments. Read along and join us in understanding how cash bail doesn’t keep communities safe. Work with us towards smart solutions that give people what they need to truly thrive. You know what they say – knowledge is power.
Thank you for your valuable attention. The urgency and complication of the cash bail crisis requires meaningful participation to create real change – change that is only achieved through the support of readers like you. Please consider sharing this piece with your networks and donating what you can today to sustain our vital work.
