On July 1, 2022, a new law went into effect in Indiana restricting our ability to help low-income Hoosiers in need of bail. The Bail Project is currently challenging this law in court. At the current time, we have ceased providing free bail assistance in Indiana. Though our local branches are unable to accept referrals at this time, our teams in Gary and Indianapolis will continue supporting current clients of The Bail Project with court notifications, transportation assistance, and voluntary referrals to social services and community resources as needed.
Since 2016, nearly a dozen counties across Indiana have piloted bail reform measures for people accused of low-level crimes, and a court ruled all counties must reduce their use of cash bail by 2020. However, in its place, the state has relied heavily on pretrial algorithms to determine whether to release people from incarceration. The number of people released pretrial on electronic monitoring is also growing rapidly, as courts reduce their use of cash bail and seek to relieve jail overcrowding. In Marion County, where we launched our Indianapolis site, pervasive electronic monitoring has caused anguish for our clients who must pay daily fees for the trackers and risk jail time if the machines malfunction. We’re working with the county’s public defender office and the Marion County Re-Entry Coalition to connect people with services they need.
The jail population in Marion County doubled from 1985 to 2014, and the number of incarcerated women increased 145%.
Black people in Marion County are 3.1 times more likely to be incarcerated than whites, even though they’re only 29% of the population.
On any given day, there are over 4,000 people strapped with ankle monitors in Marion County (pretrial and post-conviction).
Need help paying bail in Indianapolis? Please fill out the form below and a Bail Disruptor will get back to you soon.