If Not Cash Bail, Then What? Here are 6 Solutions — and Their Potential Problems.
“In jails nationwide, nearly two-thirds of all inmates are waiting for their trials to start — presumed innocent and convicted, so far, of nothing.”
Rethinking Jails
The majority of people in jail are presumed innocent. Most are there for nonviolent offenses. Many are simply too poor to post bail. Our overuse of jails carries significant costs—to individuals, families, communities, and society at large. We need solutions to start where incarceration starts: in our nation’s jails.
The Overuse of Jails Hurts Our Communities
The primary purpose of jails is to detain those awaiting trial who are a danger to public safety or a flight risk. Jailing someone who is neither results in huge costs for families and communities, including lost income, parents separated from their children, untreated mental health and substance abuse problems, a greater risk of re-offending, and wasted taxpayer dollars.
A total of 191 applications were submitted to the Challenge from jurisdictions spanning 45 states. Meet the 52 that were selected to participate in the Challenge Network.
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Pioneering a New Model for Addressing Substance Abuse
As recently as 2017, the city of Dayton, Ohio was considered the epicenter of the nation’s opioid epidemic. That year, Dayton logged the highest overdose death rate in the state and one of the highest rates in the country. Since then,