Personally speaking, I do not foresee the bail bonds industry ever going away. I do, however, see bail reform coming but not the complete eradication of bail. I could see this being a great solution for people who have committed a low level crime and don’t have the money to pay. However, I think part of the problem is that the system wants people to feel the sting of doing something against the law. Will this take away that sting? Will we see a rise in crime if people know their charges won’t be big or stiff enough?
We are currently witnessing similar issues here in California because of the passing of Prop 47. The facts speak for themselves. Below is an article addressing the rise in property crimes that one city has seen since its passing in November:
You can read that here: Revealing Perspective: The Truth About Prop. 47 from a Bail Bondsman
I would be interested to see what comes from something like this program, but I have a hard time believing that taxpayers would care to take part in this (that is, until they are in need of its assistance). Quinn makes two very valid points when he says “Will the speaker’s plan cover even those who have already jumped bail before? “At what point,” Quinn asks, would such a loser be barred?” I would be curious to see at what point, the offender get cut off from being bailed out at the cost of taxpayer’s money. How many charge would it take or what kind of crimes does he have to commit before he is no longer eligible.
However, I do see a big problem with jailing anyone for three years without a trial, let alone a 16-year-old kid. He has shown us both side of the coin here to show how and why this program could be beneficial but also the potential down sides.
Of course “The system is broken.” However, without trying new things and thinking outside of the box for solutions, we will never make any progress. It is important to experiment, but it is also important to know when something isn’t working and know when to scrap it and start over again.
Read Full Story: Look who’d really gain from the drive to end bail