Pretrial Release Programs

Some facts for you to consider about taxpayer-funded pretrial release programs throughout the nation:

• 48 percent of programs have never verified their risk assessment instrument
• Only 68 percent of programs calculate the failure to appear rate
• Only 37 percent of programs calculate the re-arrest rate

Why? Because the taxpayers are paying for such programs, which are run by county governments, many with huge bureaucratic programs. The economic costs to the taxpayers for failure to appear and re-arrests of defendants are absorbanant.

Let the private surety industry do its job for you using their own financial resources. We will make sure defendants appear at all court proceedings and adhere to conditions of the bond. If they skip, the bail agent is financially responsible and not YOU!

Upcoming Budget Hearings

Orange County is holding two public hearings on the 09/10 proposed budget and the pretrial release program is slated at $1.7 MILLION of your tax dollars! If you had $1.7 million dollars of tax money to spend, would you spend it to release criminals from jail or on other important priorities??

The public hearings are scheduled for September 10 and 24 beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the County Commission Chambers (201 S. Rosalind Avenue).

Let your voice be heard!

Releases from the Orange County, Fl. Jail

We've mentioned that defendants are being released from the Orange County Jail using your tax dollars that are charged with serious offenses such as possession of drugs, controlled substances, possession/carrying concealed weapons, battery, DUI, lewd/lascivious behavior, burglary, theft, forgery neglect of a child and numerous driving offenses, many of them habitual offenses. These defendants never see a Judge!

Well defendants with identification holds or undisclosed holds are also being approved for release under the Pretrial Release program. Pretrial Services staff cannot begin to investigate a defendant's criminal history, social/economic ties, residency etc. if they don't even know who they are dealing with! Also people who are homeless have been released using your tax dollars.

The private surety bail industry is willing and more effectively successful at supervising such defendants using no tax dollars from you! Why is your county government competing with private enterprise?

Citizens' Right-to-Know Act

The Citizens' Right-to-Know Act in Florida was by signed the Governor in June 2008 and became effective July 1, 2008. This act requires more transparency for the public to learn about the types of defendants being released on their tax dollars from county Jails. Any member of the public can obtain registry information through the Clerk of Court's Office; you will be charged a $1 per page if you want a copy of the register or you can buy a portable scanner and scan the registry right from your laptop!

Educate yourself and learn about how your limited tax dollars are being spent to release defendants charged with serious offenses and who often have lengthy criminal and driving offense histories. If the Jail in your county in Florida says they are not producing a weekly register, tell them it is the law and they must do so!

Proponents of Private Surety Bail

From the BJS Special Report: Pretrial Release of Felony Defendants in State Courts

Private Surety Bail . . .

• Reduces jail population by providing a means for defendants to obtain release
• Provides pretrial release and monitoring services at no cost to the taxpayer
• Creats an incentive that results in the majority of defendants being returned to court because the bail agent is liable for defendants who fail to appear
• Provides the opportunity for many defendants to secure their freedom while awaiting disposition of their case

Pretrial Release of Felony Defendants in State Courts

Thomas H. Cohen, Ph.D. and Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D. - Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice

Between 1990 and 2004, 62 percent of felony defendants in State courts in the 75 largest counties were released prior to the disposition of their case. Beginning in 1998, financial pretrial releases, requiring the posting of bail, were more prevalent than non-financial releases. Surety bond surpassed release on recognizance in 1998 as the most common type of pretrial release. Two-thirds of defendants had financial conditions required for release in 2004 compared to half in 1990.

Compared to release on recognizance, defendants on financial release were more likely to make all scheduled court appearances. Defendants released on an unsecured bond or as part of an emergency release were most likely to have a bench warrant issued because they failed to appear for court. Defendants arested for violent offenses or who had a criminal record were most likely to have a high bail amount or be denied bail.

Public vs. Private Law Enforcement: Evidence from Bail Jumping

By Eric Helland and Alexander Tabarrok

After being arrested and booked, most felony defendants are released to await trial. On the day of the trial, a substantial percentatge fail to appear. If the failure to appear is not quickly explained, warrants are issued and two quite different systems of pursuit and rearrest are put into action. Public police have the primary responsibility for pursuing and rearresting defendants who were released on their own recongnizance or on cash or government bail. Defendants who made bail by borrowing from a bail agent however, must worry about an entirely differenct pursuer. When a defendant who has borrowd money skips trial, the bail agent forfeits the bond unless the fugitive is soon returned.

As a result, bail agents have an incentive to monitor their charges and ensure that they do not skip. When a defendant does skip, bail agents must pursue and return the defendant to custody. Thirty percent of felony defendants who fail to appear and remain at large after one year become fugitives. The fugitive rate for failure to appear is higher for cash bond or release on own recognizance. The fugitive rate is lower for those defendants released on a surety bond than for any other type of release. The probability of being a fugitive is 64 percent lower on a surety bond compared to a cash bond.