Crime & Safety
Panel Debates Reforming State's 'Broken' Cash-Bail System
"Our bail system jails tens of thousands of people in California for being poor," one assemblyman contends.
BAY AREA, CA -- California's "broken" cash bail system was the subject of a hearing in Oakland Tuesday called by state Assemblyman Rob Bonta, who said he is committed to reforming the system this year.
"Our bail system jails tens of thousands of people in California for being poor," Bonta said. The panel, comprised of civil rights leaders, legislators and attorneys, all agreed that cash bail was an arbitrary method
of determining who to release while awaiting trial.
David Bell, a law professor at Santa Clara University, said that in Santa Clara County the median time arrestees spend in jail while awaiting trial for misdemeanors is over a month, with more time served by the poorest detainees who can't even afford the lowest bail.
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The time served in jail can complicate people's lives further, making it more likely they commit another crime in the future.
"If we want to take on mass incarceration this is where we should start," Bell said. "Even a short time in jail increases the risk of criminal activity pre-trial. Longer pre-trial stints are associated with loss of
employment and housing."
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Reform of the system would likely be arduous. Abandoning the cash bail system altogether would likely take an amendment to the state's constitution, which guarantees a right to bail, and more modest reform
efforts have already been shot down.
State Sen. Loni Hancock, who also participated in Tuesday's panel, introduced a bill in 2013 that would have granted more flexibility in releasing certain defendants on their own recognizance.
The bill had the support of the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights organizations, the California Public Defenders Association and the Richmond Police Department. It was opposed by the American Bail Coalition, the Golden State Bail Association, Aladdin Bail Bonds and the California District Attorneys Association.
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--Bay City News/File photo