Tag: bureau of justice statistics
Kentucky Bail Reform Reaching Consensus
In 1976, Kentucky passed legislation that abolished commercial bail bondsmen operating in the commonwealth. For many, this was seen as a positive move forward. Based on what’s being said now about eliminating money bail, one would think Kentucky is now – over 40 years after passing the legislation – a utopia the likes of which other […]
Why are Big Philanthropy Players Involved in Bail Reform?
It’s a legitimate question. At first glance, bail reform simply seems like the “cause du jour,” and one that big companies, celebrities, and non-profits will glom onto for a couple days or weeks before moving on to the next “cool cause.” Sure, there are a handful of principled players involved – the ACLU, and others. […]
In Ohio, Calls for Bail Reform Based on Faulty Logic
In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the call for criminal justice reform is strong. And that’s fair – anything that is poorly administered, dangerous, violates civil rights, and costs taxpayers ungodly amounts of money is sure to draw the attention – and ire – of both citizens and a free press. But where things take a turn […]
What Makes for a Good Bail Bondsman?
Dealing with the criminal justice system has its realities. It’s true that there’s a higher likelihood that people who work in companies that are connected with the criminal justice system (outside the government agencies themselves that make up the system) may themselves have some kind of criminal history. Why is that? Firstly, it’s because they […]
The Difficult Decision to Post a Cash Bond
You may be shocked to learn that, as of June 2018, the average American household has over $175,000 in savings (sources: Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). Of course, averages can be deceiving. A simple example shows why. If one person has $100 and nine others have nothing, the average amount of money […]
Text Message Reminders to Reduce Failures to Appear
One the key tenets of the bail bond system is that a monetary incentive will result in better appearance rates at trial. This has been shown to be true by various reports, most notably a Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) report that showed this trend definitively. But in all the noise surrounding the “bail reform” […]