Let's see how things went in New York... Fair or dangerous? Days after ending cash bail, New York has second thoughts "Bail reform is well meaning, but there are unintended consequences," a prosecutor said. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-...days-after-ending-cash-bail-new-york-n1111346 On Jan. 1, a landmark New York law curtailing the use of cash bail went into effect, signaling a leap in a nationwide movement to reduce the number of people held in jails. But after less than a week under the new system, elected officials are already having second thoughts, rattled by stories of suspects' being set free and committing new crimes ─ including that of a woman accused of an anti-Semitic attack in New York City. The backlash, led by conservative lawmakers and law enforcement authorities, is sweeping up some Democrats who pushed for the law, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who said Monday that it remains "a work in progress." The shift shows that politicians are still wary of appearing soft on crime, even as the country has become more open to changing its criminal justice system by electing reform-minded prosecutors, easing sentencing laws and eliminating policies that discriminate against the poor. As the latest state to struggle over revamping its bail laws, New York may now become a lesson for others considering similar changes. "This is, in some ways, the Willie Horton effect playing out over and over again, including in our contemporary progressive politics," said Kellen Funk, an associate professor at Columbia Law School, where he teaches a seminar on the American bail system. "It's not gone," Funk said of what he called "attention-grabbing anecdotes that sway policy much more than the statistics that tell us which policies work and which don't." The movement to eliminate bail aims to make the system fairer for poor people, who are far more likely to get stuck in jail while awaiting trial. That makes them more likely to lose their jobs and to plead guilty, even if they are innocent, experts say. Many borrow bail money from bondsmen and then end up in debt. Wealthier people, meanwhile, can buy their way out of pretrial detention on just about any charge, from shoplifting to murder. In recent years, dozens of localities, counties and states have tried to change the system by sending more defendants home to await trial, although the methods and outcomes have varied. New York's law eliminates pretrial detention and cash bail in cases involving most misdemeanor and nonviolent felony charges. Only in the cases of the most serious charges are judges allowed to decide whether to set bail or to order someone held behind bars until trial. Across the state, opponents of the new law have publicized cases of suspects set free ─ a serial bank robber, a repeat burglar, a man accused of manslaughter, an alleged hit-and-run drunk driver ─ which they say demonstrate how doing away with bail allows dangerous criminals to remain on the streets. Perhaps the most notorious case is that of Tiffany Harris, a Brooklyn woman who was released after she was alleged to have hit three Jewish women in a bias attack, only to be arrested the next day and accused of an assault on another woman. The earlier assault came amid a string of anti-Semitic incidents in the New York region, including a knife attack at a Hanukkah celebration and a mass shooting at a kosher grocery store. The incidents focused pressure on elected leaders to do more to fight hate crimes. Since then, Cuomo, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and the leader of the state Senate ─ all Democrats who pushed for the new law ─ have said it needs to be changed. Cuomo's office said he supports adding hate crimes to a list of charges for which judges would be permitted to order a suspect held on bail. The issue has divided New York's Democratic-led Legislature, with some supporters complaining of fearmongering and knee-jerk political responses. "The hysteria around the situation completely ignores the fact that people have been released and accused of horrible things for a long time," said Michael Gianaris, the deputy Democratic leader of the state Senate, who sponsored the bail reform law. Under the traditional bail system, the people who got released "had the money to buy their freedom," he said. "For every story that gets sensationalized, there are hundreds of people who have been able to keep their jobs and remain with their families while accused of low-level crimes," he said. Gianaris pointed out that the film producer Harvey Weinstein remained free on $1 million bond ahead of his rape trial in Manhattan this week.
New York Tried to Get Rid of Bail. Then the Backlash Came. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/04/23/bail-reform-coronavirus-new-york-backlash-148299 "But just a few months ago, before the [COVID] outbreak, that momentum hit a major roadblock. One of the most high-profile tests of bail reform, in New York state, sparked a political backlash and sent advocates into damage-control mode. In 2019, the New York Legislature passed one of the most progressive bail-reform packages in the United States, abolishing bail for many misdemeanors and nonviolent crimes. Soon after the law went into effect, in January 2020, the New York Police Department released figures showing a spike in crime and pointed the finger at the new, looser bail rules."
If we had only those two cities, yeah, it would make cash bail appear to be the stronger if not only variable to consider.
Same situation when comparing Durham to all the local cities in the RTP area; Chapel Hill, Apex, Cary, etc. etc.
For sure the idea deserves more careful consideration. Sounds like Illinois leadership has the space to do that over the next couple of years.
Illinois should simply call New York and ask about their experience. It will save them two years of rising crime.
Republicans don't care about the stats the victims put together at behest of community safety when school shooting victims are mowed down by an AR-15 or all the other victims of gun violence though.
Ever notice that back in the days when most high schools had school riflery teams we never had a problem with school shootings. It's not the guns.