Bail Bonds and Cash Alternatives - The Influence of 'Discounts' on Bail-Making in New York City

• NCJ Number: 104346
• Journal: Justice System Journal Volume: 1 Issue: 2 Dated: (Fall 1986) Pages: 131-147
• Author(s): M Sviridoff
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 17 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

In the past 20 years, the role played by professional bondsmen in New York City in the process of securing the release of defendants from pretrial detention has declined dramatically. This article shows that the overwhelming majority of defendants who now make bail do so in cash.

Abstract

Those defendants for whom judges set a 'cash alternative' bail, which effectively 'discounts' the cost of release, are considerably more likely to make bail than those for whom no 'cash alternative' is designated. Research suggests that judicial decisions regarding the setting of cash alternatives are less consistent and less rational than decisions about either release on recognizance or the face amount of bail. Given the influence of cash alternative bails on pretrial release, there is a need to learn more about the judicial decision to set or not set a bail 'discount.' (Publisher abstract)