Senator Hertzberg Hides the Truth About Bail Reform According to California Bail Agents Association
SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The proposed SB10-Bail and its authors would have everyone believe that they are protecting the poor and indigent from an unfair bail system. The presentation of this bill by Senator Hertzberg to the Senate Standing Committee on Public Safety was censored to hide important facts. Verbally, he touts a free pretrial release process in which every newly booked prisoner will be released with a promise to appear contract or 'no money bail', he fails to mention the actual content of the bill which states that prisoners will be charged a percentage of the bond amount as a bail deposit paid to the court. Consequently, the poor and indigent will essentially be prevented from benefitting even though he is promising a bail free system. LEARN MORE NOW at https://www.cbaa.com and http://savebail.com/.
Another glaring problem is that this bill removes every person's right to bail prior to conviction. Now, as an arrestee you have the immediate right to post a bail through the vehicle of your choice in cash or bond for a specified amount for release while charges are pending. SB10-Bail will remove that right and put a governmental pretrial services agency in charge of conducting a risk assessment. This is forwarded to a judge who will approve or design conditions of bail such as GPS tracking. Processing time is 'unspecified' in the bill itself. Proposed amendments cite the risk assessment could take up to 48 hours. This means that if you get arrested, you will sit in jail until a governmental agency makes decisions about your freedom.
Bail agencies, as a third party, keep the system running efficiently by providing immediate releases thereby saving tax payers from the high costs of failure to appear. Research shows that one failure to appear (FTA) warrant will cost tax payers $1700 per instance. A DOI panel discussion cited that Sacramento has 56,000 warrants in their system; this totals over $98 million in costs to handle the warrants. The Bail Bond industry does not contribute to this warrant count because they privately guarantee appearances. If arrestees are released on a 'no money bail' product the number of FTAs will go up. This bill will have astounding costs to taxpayers. The 'no money bail' act unfairly punishes everyone by ending their right to decide about bail for themselves. Visit us at https://www.cbaa.com.
SOURCE California Bail Agents Association
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