"Evidence of a Failed System"

A study of the Performance of Pretrial Release Agencies in California by the American Legislative Exchange Council published in April 1995.

Executive Summary

Too many crimes are being committed by repeat criminals who have been through the judicial system at least once before.  A symptom of this proble is the failure of released defendants to appear for trial, since they are likely to commit additional crimes while on pretrial release.

When criminal suspects are arrested, few are actually forced to be confined to jail until trial.  Most are released pending trial.  Pretrial release options fall into one of two broad categories:  private secured release and government secured release.

The government secured released programs were initially developed to serve only truly indigent, non-dangerous defendants.  Like many government programs, they have since expanded beyond their original intent.  Government pretrial released programs have become the most common form of pretrial release in most states, and the only form in some states.

• This study found that in the couties of San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, private secured released  is much more effective than government secured released in ensuring defendants appear for trial.

More than 60 % of defendants are released prior to trial by the courts of the nation's 75 most populous cities.  In the three counties examined in this study, that number is lower, a little more than 40%.  Of those that are released in the three counties, a slim majority (52%) are released under some form of government secured release without the requirement that they post financial security for their promise to appear for trial.  The others are released under some form of private secured release, generally surety bail which requires the posting of a bond.