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Can Cashless Bail Possibly Work?
Communities from Illinois to LA are experimenting with eliminating cash bail. Could it work?
“Zero-bail policy takes effect in Los Angeles County, ending traditional cash system,” reported KABC Los Angeles yesterday.
“The zero-bail system, officially dubbed by the Los Angeles Superior Court as Pre-Arraignment Release Protocols, or PARP, largely eliminates the existing cash bail system for all but the most serious of crimes,” continued the outlet. “Most people arrested on suspicion on non-violent or non-serious offenses will either be cited and released in the field or booked and released at a police or sheriff’s station with orders to appear in court on a specific date for arraignment once they are actually charged with a crime.”
Though a dozen cities have sued to stop this change in LA County, the challenges may not prove successful. Similar attempts to stop such bail reform efforts in other areas, like Illinois, failed.
“I’m pleased that the Illinois Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the SAFE-T Act and the elimination of cash bail,” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said after his efforts to eliminate cash bail in Cook County and beyond survived legal hurdles. “We can now move forward with historic reform to ensure pre-trial detainment is determined by the danger individual poses to the community…