Ending Cash Bail for Most Misdemeanors Is Associated with Improved Public Safety
New Report from the Wilson Center for Science and Justice Analyzes Impacts Six Years After the Implementation of New Misdemeanor Bail Policies in Harris County, Texas
In 2019, Harris County, Texas, eliminated a required cash bail schedule for misdemeanors as a result of the ODonnell v. Harris County settlement. Instead, most people arrested for misdemeanors are now entitled to be released promptly without a hearing. People charged with misdemeanors that potentially present public safety risks (e.g., repeat DWIs, family violence, prior bond violations or outstanding warrants) are not automatically released, but they receive a bail hearing, where they are represented by a public defender.
In this latest report, the Wilson Center analyzes how the system has changed after these changes were enacted and shares accounts of people experiencing the system since these changes.
The Center found that since the implementation of new bail policies in Harris County:
- Public safety outcomes have improved. Fewer people are arrested and rearrested for misdemeanors. The number of misdemeanor arrestees has declined by almost 14% since 2015, and the number of rearrests for people charged with a misdemeanor within one year has remained stable.
- Fewer people are required to pay cash bail, and most are not jailed pretrial in misdemeanor cases. In 2015, over 85% of misdemeanor arrestees had a cash bond; now that number about 14%. Similarly, in 2015, over 60% of people misdemeanor arrestees were detained in jailed until their case was resolved; that is now about 10%.
- Thousands of people are released more quickly, which means more individuals have been able to maintain family, housing, medical and employment stability.
- There are fewer convictions, more people are acquitted, and more cases are dismissed.
- The community has saved tens of millions of dollars.
“Harris County is one of the largest urban jurisdictions in the country, and seeing the results in this community when they changed cash bail requirements for misdemeanors can inform other jurisdictions who would like to create more effective, fairer policies that improve public safety,” says Wilson Center Policy Analyst and report author Lindsay Bass-Patel.
Wilson Center Faculty Director Brandon Garrett has served as the Independent Monitor in the ODonnell Settlement, and the monitorship team has issued several in-depth reports throughout the monitorship process. This new brief is built on the findings of the Monitorship and personal stories of those impacted.