Draft Bail and Release Work Group Report Matthew Fisk, Office of the County Executive Kavita Narayan, Office of the County Counsel
Overview • Draft based on data gathered from public safety and justice departments and partners, and research conducted on state and national best practices
• Timeline: ▫ Refine report through discussion, direction, and further research – Spring 2016 ▫ Present research and recommendations to Board of Supervisors – June 2016
Methodology • Data and information gathered from County departments and public safety and justice partners • Consultation with officials from other jurisdictions, experts in pretrial justice • Research on policies and practices in other jurisdictions, national standards/best practices
Overview of the Pretrial Process (Justice Policy Institute)
Key Research Findings • Average pretrial detention length in SCC: ▫ Misdemeanors – 28 days ▫ Felonies – 224 days
• Approx. 90% of SCC defendants detained before trial are in custody because they were unable to make bail ▫ Racial and socioeconomic disparities in percentages of defendants unable to pay bail
• In SCC, pretrial supervision costs $15/day, while pretrial detention costs $159/day • Even short-term pretrial detention can cause job loss, loss of housing, and other social disruptions • Money bail has become the prevalent pretrial outcome • Money bail does not improve FTA rates or prevent pretrial reoffense/misconduct
Key Research Findings (continued) • Bail bond agents have financial incentives to seek out defendants with higher bail amounts; lower-risk defendants with lower bail amounts may not be able to obtain a bond • Little to no financial risk for bond agents because they obtain a 10% non-refundable fee + expenses and collateral, post no money with the court upfront, and rarely are subject to bail forfeitures • Risk-based assessments – including the tool used by the Office of Pretrial Services – allow more defendants to be released pretrial without increasing FTA, re-arrest, or violation rates ▫ Some jurisdictions use domestic violence risk assessments to predict DV-specific risks during the pretrial period
Recommendations • Incorporate pretrial justice considerations into existing reform efforts • Address access and inefficiency issues ▫ ▫ ▫ ▫
Arraignment Credit card option for bail payments Targeted re-reviews of pretrial assessments Consistent process to provide defense counsel with complete case information earlier in the process
Recommendations (continued) • Modify or eliminate practices with discriminatory impacts and negative public safety impacts ▫ Eliminate combination of money bail + pretrial supervision ▫ Ordinance Code amendment ▫ Public or nonprofit alternative
• Address special considerations in DV cases ▫ Screening and risk assessment tools ▫ Consider pretrial justice issues in existing efforts
• Enable self-monitoring and ongoing improvement by ensuring pretrial justice data collection and sharing
Points for Discussion • Additional data or information on experiences with the pretrial process • Additional information on sample reforms/best practices • Recommendations • Research questions to refer to Santa Clara law students (next agenda item)