Adams, Broomfield, and Weld County Bail Bonds

You hear a lot from so-called “bail reformers” these days about how allowing virtually everyone walk free after being arrested is somehow going to create a safer world for you and me. It beggars belief that they actually find a few people who will drink that Kool-aid. But what’s happening from coast to coast in states where bail bonding has been abandoned in favor of catch-and-release should be enough to put the “safer world” fantasy to bed once and for all. New Hampshire is the latest example of a state whose lawmakers adopted catch-and-release in an attempt to seem “progressive” and is now paying the price. What are we talking about? Read on and find out.

Most people don’t realize it but the driving force behind the so-called “bail reform” movement of the past few years has been a non-profit called “the Arnold Foundation”. The Arnold Foundation began life almost a decade ago in search of a cause to champion and saw the bail bonds industry as an easy mark. They hired programmers no one has ever met to devise software no one understood that was supposed to take the risk out of releasing accused criminals, thereby rendering bondsmen obsolete.

Like a lot of other states Missouri has been flirting with the notion of eliminating cash bail during the past year. Anti-bail lobbyists have been busy working the corridors of power in Jefferson City trying to convince lawmakers to do just that. But while they debated the issue activists judges on the Missouri Supreme Court went ahead and changed the law themselves, imposing new rules in July that compelled courts to release more people on their own recognizance. One of those who was allowed to walk without bail in September was 23 year old Javier Alatorre.

We heard a lot during the recent attempt by anti-bail lobbyists to drag Colorado into the same hole New Jersey now finds itself in about how unfair and ineffective the cash bail system is. The entire bail bonds enterprise is corrupt and needs to be abandoned, those lobbyists and their political allies warned. What you didn’t hear were facts to back up their arguments. Nor did you hear any concrete suggestions about how the system could be tweaked to address their concerns. Just “it’s unfair and must be discarded.”

Near the end of his time occupying the governor's office in Sacramento, then California governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 10 or SB10. SB10 represented a wholesale abandonment of the cash bail system which, while imperfect, had nonetheless worked (and continues to work) nationwide for centuries. The goal, according to the governor, was restoring fairness to the system. While that makes for a great sound bite, it's about as far from the truth as Sacramento is from Adams County, Broomfield County, Weld County and Denver.

In recent years the so-called bail reform movement has laid siege to statehouses from coast to coast. Brimming with noble-sounding rhetoric and backed by wealthy individuals who would never have to live with the consequences of the actions they champion, the movement has seen some limited "success" in states like New Jersey and California. But the movement itself is not actually about "bail reform." It's actually about bail elimination. Which is an entirely different matter.

What happens when you simply release violent criminals without bond? Good luck getting a bail bonds reformer to answer that question. Instead, they're likely to spout something about how a bail-free society means fewer people behind bars. Now, if it also meant fewer crimes being committed, that might be something to brag about. But the opposite is actually the case.

Ask most people who say they support eliminating bail why they support it, and you'll likely get some form of "it discriminates against poor people." Okay. If true, that's horrible. But can they provide any evidence it's actually true? "Well," they'll likely reply, "there are a lot more poor people in jail than rich people."

Okay. But does being poor excuse you for murdering someone? Or raping someone? Or stealing their car? Or holding up a family grocery store with a loaded weapon? And if a person is accused of committing these types of crimes, shouldn't there be some way to ensure they show up to face their accuser in court? Read More