Bail System Reform FAQ

 Press Release  •   Letter Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure

1. Why do we need to reform Maryland's bail system?
2. Should Maryland release a defendant if a judge determines the defendant is a flight risk and/or a risk to public safety?
3. Why is Maryland releasing defendants charged with violent crimes?
4. Why would Maryland ever release people charged with a crime instead of jailing them until trial?
5. Is there a financial burden to the state in detaining low risk people?
6. Have other states and localities eliminated or reduced their use of money bail?

1. Why do we need to reform Maryland's bail system?

• Decisions about who is released pending trial should be based on whether the person is a flight risk and/or a risk to the community, not on one's ability to pay.  Nonviolent, low-risk people should not be jailed before trial simply because they cannot pay nominal bail amounts.  If a judge has determined that a person is eligible for bail, then the judge/judicial officer has already made a determination that the person is not a threat to public safety and/or is not a flight risk.
• Hundreds of low risk individuals are detained each day in Maryland jails because they are poor and unable to make bail while high-risk defendants are able to post bail, released, and free to commit violent crimes.  Not only is this unfair and unsafe, it may also be unconstitutional. 

2. Should Maryland release a defendant if a judge determines the defendant is a flight risk and/or a risk to public safety?

• No.  Those defendants should be jailed pending trial.

3. Why is Maryland releasing defendants charged with violent crimes?

• This office is not advocating for the release of individuals who pose a threat to the public.  Individuals who pose a threat to public safety and/or are a flight risk should be jailed pending trial. 

4. Why would Maryland ever release people charged with a crime instead of jailing them until trial?

• In America, a person accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty.  But often in Maryland, lower risk individuals accused of crimes are jailed because they cannot afford to pay bail. Conversely, dangerous or high risk defendants who have access to financial resources are often able to make bail and are released back into the community with no additional conditions. 

5. Is there a financial burden to the state in detaining low risk people?

• Maryland's current pretrial system significantly burdens Maryland taxpayers. It is estimated that pretrial detention costs Maryland somewhere between $83 and $153 a day for each of the 7,000 plus people who are detained in jail awaiting trial at any given time in Maryland. Using these numbers, state and local correctional agencies are spending $500,000 to $1,000,000 a day on pretrial detention.  Supervision outside of jail is 10x cheaper than detaining a person until trial.  Reducing the reliance on money bail and increasing the use of other pretrial supervision tools results in taxpayer savings and allows for the most cost-effective use of tax dollars.

6. Have other states and localities eliminated or reduced their use of money bail?

• Reducing reliance on bail is not a new idea.  In the District of Columbia, courts rely heavily on supervised pretrial release rather than bail.  In DC, 90% of defendants appear for trial and are not rearrested before their cases are resolved.
• After Kentucky shifted to a nonfinancial pretrial release program and adopted an evidence-based risk assessment tool, its pretrial release rate and its court appearance rate both increased and arrests for new criminal activity while on pretrial release dropped by 15%. 
• A Colorado risk assessment tool documented a 95% court appearance and a 91% public safety rate for its lowest risk defendants.
• Each of these jurisdictions developed a pretrial services program and employed a risk evaluation tool that resulted in increased court appearances and in some instances, reduced recidivism. These systems also experienced a reduction in the costs of housing defendants pretrial.
• A few jurisdictions in Maryland have reduced their reliance on money bail and are seeing positive outcomes.  St. Mary's County and Montgomery County have shifted away from the use of money bail with non-violent offenders. Montgomery County and St. Mary's County are using a validated risk assessment tool for every defendant. They are using pretrial services in a smart way that recognizes the value of people returning to their communities with the help they need to be successful which ultimately protects the public, increases the likelihood that defendants show up for trial, and minimizes the detrimental impacts of pretrial detention and cost to tax-payers.

Press Release  •   Letter Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure