September 29, 2015 - Atara Rich-Shea, MBF Steering Committee
As you may already know MassINC released an important policy brief regarding the need for bail reform in Massachusetts and we at the Massachusetts Bail Fund support their call to action as we continue our work of posting bail for low-income individuals and educating the community about the many inequities of the cash bail system in Massachusetts.
As the report shows, Massachusetts bail data is difficult to obtain. But what data is available is disheartening; Massachusetts is incarcerating more people pretrial even as fewer people are being arrested. The Massachusetts Bail Fund calls for greater transparency in the administration and assessment of cash bail.
Below is our press release which includes our reaction to the report. The report can be found here.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
MASSACHUSETTS BAIL FUND APPLAUDS MASSINC’S POLICY BRIEF EXPOSING THE INEQUITIES OF CASH BAIL IN MASSACHUSETTS
Boston, MA – September 29, 2015 – Today, The Massachusetts Bail Fund announced its support of Mass Inc‘s exposure of the inequities of cash bail in the recently released policy brief, “Exploring the Potential for Pretrial Innovation in Massachusetts.” Massachusetts is incarcerating more people pretrial than ever before. The racial and ethnic disparities highlighted in this report both reinforce and inform the Massachusetts Bail Funds mission to end the system of cash bail in the Commonwealth.
The data on higher bail and pre-trial incarceration rates for minorities are startling, but they are only part of a much larger problem with the cash bail system. Bail data are difficult to ascertain and the records are inconsistent across counties. What is available is disheartening however. For example, in 2014 Middlesex County reported that on October 31, 2014 more than one out of five (22 percent) incarcerated individuals were in jail on less than $1,000.
"The information in the report is consistent with what we’ve seen at the Massachusetts Bail Fund, where so far in 2015, the average bail we’ve posted for clients was $373.00. About half of our closed cases end in a dismissal, which means that without our help, these innocent clients would have sat in jail either waiting for their case to be dismissed or, what research shows is more likely, plead guilty in order to be released,” said Norma Wassel, Massachusetts Bail Fund spokesperson.
Massachusetts collects millions of dollars in bail every year, but just as the data on individual bail amounts are poorly recorded and difficult to get, data on how much bail is collected are equally difficult to obtain.
Better data are needed to understand the number of people in the Commonwealth being detained pretrial on low bail. The Massachusetts Bail Fund was able to learn that in 2014 in Suffolk County, after hours bail fees nearly reached $362,000.00. These are fees paid to bail commissioners when bail is posted, which, unlike bail, are not returned at the close of a case.
“The data in this report exposes some of the ways in Massachusetts maintains an inequitable system that disproportionately impacts poor people and minorities. Both our research and the data in this report highlight the need for greater transparency in the administration and assessment of cash bail. We at Massachusetts Bail Fund are working not only to provide bail for low-income families and to educate the public about how its use has such negative consequence for them, but also to reform the system to reduce the imposition of bail where it is not needed and to assure that is fair for all individuals,” said Wassel.
As the report shows, Massachusetts bail data is difficult to obtain. But what data is available is disheartening; Massachusetts is incarcerating more people pretrial even as fewer people are being arrested. The Massachusetts Bail Fund calls for greater transparency in the administration and assessment of cash bail.
Below is our press release which includes our reaction to the report. The report can be found here.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
MASSACHUSETTS BAIL FUND APPLAUDS MASSINC’S POLICY BRIEF EXPOSING THE INEQUITIES OF CASH BAIL IN MASSACHUSETTS
Boston, MA – September 29, 2015 – Today, The Massachusetts Bail Fund announced its support of Mass Inc‘s exposure of the inequities of cash bail in the recently released policy brief, “Exploring the Potential for Pretrial Innovation in Massachusetts.” Massachusetts is incarcerating more people pretrial than ever before. The racial and ethnic disparities highlighted in this report both reinforce and inform the Massachusetts Bail Funds mission to end the system of cash bail in the Commonwealth.
The data on higher bail and pre-trial incarceration rates for minorities are startling, but they are only part of a much larger problem with the cash bail system. Bail data are difficult to ascertain and the records are inconsistent across counties. What is available is disheartening however. For example, in 2014 Middlesex County reported that on October 31, 2014 more than one out of five (22 percent) incarcerated individuals were in jail on less than $1,000.
"The information in the report is consistent with what we’ve seen at the Massachusetts Bail Fund, where so far in 2015, the average bail we’ve posted for clients was $373.00. About half of our closed cases end in a dismissal, which means that without our help, these innocent clients would have sat in jail either waiting for their case to be dismissed or, what research shows is more likely, plead guilty in order to be released,” said Norma Wassel, Massachusetts Bail Fund spokesperson.
Massachusetts collects millions of dollars in bail every year, but just as the data on individual bail amounts are poorly recorded and difficult to get, data on how much bail is collected are equally difficult to obtain.
Better data are needed to understand the number of people in the Commonwealth being detained pretrial on low bail. The Massachusetts Bail Fund was able to learn that in 2014 in Suffolk County, after hours bail fees nearly reached $362,000.00. These are fees paid to bail commissioners when bail is posted, which, unlike bail, are not returned at the close of a case.
“The data in this report exposes some of the ways in Massachusetts maintains an inequitable system that disproportionately impacts poor people and minorities. Both our research and the data in this report highlight the need for greater transparency in the administration and assessment of cash bail. We at Massachusetts Bail Fund are working not only to provide bail for low-income families and to educate the public about how its use has such negative consequence for them, but also to reform the system to reduce the imposition of bail where it is not needed and to assure that is fair for all individuals,” said Wassel.