Race and Bail in America

the bail system for people of african descent in america is criminal. richard pryor once said, "there is no justice for black people - just us." listed below are statistics recently cited by the pretrial racial justice initiative (prji).

* african-americans are 2.5 times more likely to be arrested than white americans.

for non-violent drug arrests:

* african-americans are 2 times more likely to be detained than whites. 
* hispanics are 2.5 times more likely to be detained than whites.
* 1 in 15 african-american males are incarcerated.
* 1 in 36 hispanic males are incarcerated.
* 1 in 106 white males are incarcerated. 

race and bond amounts are significantly correlated:

* african-american men - 35% higher bond than white men.
* hispanic men - 19% higher bond than white men.

drivers of racial discrimination:

* implicit biases of system actors.
* jurisdictions that allow non-lawyers to make bail decisions.
* lack of adequate information to make informed decisions.
* monetary bail system.
* no oversight of discretionary decision-making.

short periods of pretrial detention increases the likelihood of:

* failure to appear in court.
* new criminal activity while awaiting trial.
* post-disposition recidivism.

defendants held for the entire trial period faced:

* four times greater likelihood of being sentenced to jail.
* three times greater likelihood of being sentenced to prison.
* three times longer jail sentences.
* two times prison sentence.

pretrial risk assessment can help to level these disparities through:

* education of implicit biases.
* move from monetary to risk-based system.
* multiple stages of release.
* oversight and accountability.
* require articulation of bail decisions.
* review of bail determinations.