New York, NY – NYC Announces New Tools To Make Paying Bail Easier, Reducing Unnecessary Jail Time

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    In this photo taken Tuesday, July 7, 2015, a bail bonds sign hangs on the side of a bail bonds business near Brooklyn's courthouse complex and jail in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)New York, NY – The Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice today announced several new tools that will make it easier for defendants to post bail. The resources – developed as part of the Bail Lab – include ATMs in all of New York City’s criminal courthouses and an easy-to-understand guide to paying bail that describes how to send bail money to inmates and obtain a bail refund.

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    Approximately 17,000 individuals per year are able to make bail after they are booked into Rikers Island jails, with 77 percent making bail within one week of being detained. This suggests that these defendants may be able to afford bail, but that inefficiencies in the bail payment process could be leading to delays that result in unnecessary time behind bars. To identify bottlenecks in the bail payment process, the City partnered with the Center for Court Innovation to comprehensively map physical and procedural obstacles to paying bail. The new tools announced today aim to eliminate these obstacles.

    “The problem we are aiming to solve here is meaningless jail – for an individual who can afford to post bail, there is no reason why he or she should sit in jail for two days simply because of obstacles to paying bail,” said Elizabeth Glazer, director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. “Access to ATMs and comprehensive information about how to pay bail can mean the difference between posting bail at arraignment and going home, or being sent to Rikers.”
    To improve the bail payment process, the City is:

    • Securing ATMs for all criminal courthouses. New ATMs will be installed in three additional courthouses, ensuring access in every criminal court across the City. Often, defendants are brought to the courthouse during late night or early morning hours when few options exist to withdraw funds for bail payment. Inability to access cash and pay bail directly after arraignment can mean transfer to Rikers Island.

    • Releasing a comprehensive “User Guide to Paying Bail.” For the first time, New Yorkers will be able to access comprehensive, easy-to-understand information about bail payment online at the Bail Lab website, in informational packets given to families at arraignment, and via the New York City 311 website. Among other resources, this guide includes information on how to access the Department of Correction web portal that allows the transfer of funds to an inmate, how bail gets refunded, and how to file a complaint against a commercial bail bondsman if an individual feels they have been charged an excessive fee.

    • Exploring options to pay bail using a credit card. The City is currently working with the State’s Office of Court Administration to assess options for a defendant to pay his or her own bail with a credit or debit card.

    Announced in October 2015, the Bail Lab seeks to address the fundamental issues that plague the money bail system in the City. Money bail is problematic because, for example, some low-risk defendants may spend time on Rikers Island because of inability to pay bail while some defendants who could be dangerous are able to pay bail and return to the street. The Mayor’s Office is working to move toward a system in which decisions about pre-trial detention are driven by risk.

    While only 14 percent of defendants in New York City are detained on bail, this still amounts to approximately 47,000 individuals per year. The Bail Lab aims to reduce this number for individuals who can safely wait for trial in the community.

    To reduce reliance on money bail and improve the City’s ability to protect public safety, the Bail Lab is:

    • Expanding non-bail options for release before trial. Beginning in March 2016, judges citywide now have the option to assign eligible, lower-risk defendants to a program that will supervise them in the community while waiting for trial, allowing them to continue working and living at home instead of being detained in jail. Participation in the program includes a simple reminder system and voluntary referral to supportive services, such as behavioral health care or job training. To date, over 516 individuals are being safely supervised in the community instead of in jail.

    • “Crowdsourcing” innovations. The Mayor’s Office hosted a public symposium titled “Resetting Bail: The Price of Justice in New York City” at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem on May 11, 2016. Over 400 members of the public, experts, advocates, and elected officials attended to explore bold ideas in bail reform. Additionally, thousands of individuals have visited the Bail Lab website, suggesting solutions like transparent and easily-accessible information on how to pay bail.

    • Changing state law. The Mayor’s Office is pursuing a change to state law so that New York is no longer one of only four states that prohibit judges from considering public safety risk when making bail determinations. Current law can mean that some high-risk individuals may have low bail amounts set and be able to return to their neighborhood – and possibly re-offend – while waiting for trial. It can also mean that some low-risk people may be unnecessarily detained.

    • Working with the New York City Council to establish a bail fund. The Mayor’s Office is supporting Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s creation of a citywide bail fund, and working with the Council to create eligibility criteria for this valuable program.

    The Bail Lab builds upon New York City’s history of leading the nation in pre-trial justice reform. Currently, New York City is a national leader in the percentage of defendants – 68 percent – who wait for trial at home, without conditions like supervision or money bail. Justice Reboot, a joint initiative from the Mayor’s Office and the State Courts, has made significant progress in cutting case delay and reducing the number of felony criminal cases with a detained defendant that have been pending for longer than a year. The strategy announced today advances the administration’s work to ensure that all components of the City’s pre-trial system effectively protect public safety and increase fairness.


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    2 Comments
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    bennyt
    bennyt
    7 years ago

    Who even needs a bail system? Let’s just get rid of the whole criminal justice system and hope for the best. After all, the only reason that people commit crimes is because we oppressed them and they feel “hopeless” and “frustrated” to use some of the terms our lefty liberals like to throw out while bending over backwards to make excuses for society’s ills.

    JackC
    JackC
    7 years ago

    We would be better protected in NYS by having the option to consider “potential dangerousness” when setting bail.