Adult Pre Trial Bail System Analysis

I agree that there need to be serious changes made to both the Adult Pre Trial Bail system and, more urgently, to the Juvenile Pre Trial Bail system. Detaining a juvenile, for an indefinite amount of time, while they await trial is uncivilized and unfair. Doing so punishes them for a crime prior to proving they have committed it. They are not innocent before they are proven guilty. What is more, there are many downsides to pre-trial detention; it is not cost effective, it increases the likelihood of the individual committing a crime in the future and returning to jail and it jeopardized the safety of a community. Pre-trial detention costs the tax payers more money to detain an individual in a jail than it does to have them released on their own recognizance and be supervised while awaiting trial. Spending an undetermined amount of time for a juvenile in jail significantly increases their likelihood of committing a crime and returning to jail. Furthermore, it threatens the safety of the community, because those with money, regardless of how they acquired it, are able to buy their freedom, even when they have been charged with a violent and serious crime. …show more content…
It is racially biased because those who cannot afford their freedom live in poverty and are by and large people of color. A juvenile’s future is significantly impacted by pre-trial incarceration, missed days at school, separation from family and negative influences during incarceration factor in to their increase risk of committing a crime in their future. The longer an individual stays in jail, albeit innocent and waiting for trial, upon their release, they are at a higher risk of