Where Mercy Is Shown, Mercy Is Given - Duane Dog Chapman [81]
Most states in our country have implemented a policy for certain offenders called “pretrial release.” The program is designed as an alternative to incarceration for all defendants who are initially unable to post bail. Although the program is meant for defendants accused of minor crimes, who pose no immediate threat of flight or danger to the community, many jurisdictions offer the program to criminals who don’t fit those criteria. It’s a state-run program funded by the federal government. It’s designed to relieve overcrowding and alleviate court burden for judges who have severely overbooked dockets.
The pretrial service interviews defendants so they can decide if that person is either worthy of a free bond or what is often referred to as a PR, a personal recognizance bond. In some states these are also called OR bonds, or own recognizance bonds. Any way you slice it, these are free bonds provided to defendants by the government, which in my opinion are nothing more than “get out of jail free” cards.
The program works by having a pretrial officer prepare a report based on the officer’s limited interview with the defendant, which ostensibly helps the court make an informed decision about whether that person should be released or detained. If that person is released, the pretrial officer becomes responsible for supervising them, assisting in complying with the conditions of their release, monitoring that compliance, providing necessary support services, and informing the court of any and all violations of those conditions.
Unlike bondsmen, pretrial officers don’t need a license to do what they do. They don’t have to take a state-mandated exam like the one that bondsmen are required to pass. They get very little instruction beyond some administrative training and can’t really assess whether a defendant is a true threat to society or if they’ll ever show for their court appearance. The state doesn’t employ bounty hunters and there aren’t any who work for pretrial services. That job ends up falling on people who are called cops, which means that they’ll issue another warrant if the defendant bolts, but only after that guy’s file has sat on someone’s desk for three to six weeks before it gets entered into the system.
The percentage of defendants who run from the pretrial system exceeds 70 percent, a staggering figure when you consider that many of these are hardened criminals who have been put back out on the street because the program believed they weren’t risks. To put that into perspective for you, the percentage of my defendants who run hovers around 17 percent. Of those who are foolish enough to try to get away, I have brought 98 percent back to face their crimes. I’m still looking for the other 2 percent, and you and I both know who you are!
Unfortunately, none of our criminal justice departments can allocate the funds to send out a task force to reclaim all of these fugitives from the pretrial program, so they do the best they can, and don’t end up achieving much. Forty to 60 percent of all defendants will be released under the pretrial release program, which means that the state is letting these criminals back onto the street as fast as the cops are picking them up. The defendant doesn’t care if he shows up in court or not, because there is nothing to lose if he fails to appear. No one has the deed to his momma’s house or the pink slip to his daddy’s car, and he certainly isn’t afraid