Donald Trump has set his sights on “cashless bail” and on states that support bail reforms. On Monday, he signed an executive order to limit cashless bail in Washington, DC and threatened to revoke federal funding for other states that use it.
“Cashless bail, we’re ending it,” Trump declared while signing the executive order. The executive order stated that he “will require commonsense policies that protect Americans’ safety and well-being by incarcerating individuals to known threats.” He added that federal funding should not support states with “cashless bail policies.”
The order instructs the U.S. attorney general to submit a list of states and localities that have “substantially eliminated cash bail” for people who are awaiting trial for crimes that threaten public safety and order, like violent crimes, sex crimes, looting, and vandalism. Federal agencies are also ordered to identify any grants or other funding they provide to those jurisdictions that could be suspended or terminated.
States, including New York, New Jersey and Illinois, will be affected the most under Trump’s attack on cashless bail.
What is Cashless Bail and Why is it Necessary?
“Cashless bail” is a criminal justice reform policy that has changed the traditional practice of making bail. Bail is an instrument that allows people to pay to be released from jail before trial. Cashless Bail, on the other hand, replaces the traditional system with one that focuses on public safety, defendant’s rights and ensuring people accused of crimes return to court.
Washington DC, the immediate target of Trump’s executive order, removed cash bail in most cases in 1992. Democratic-controlled states like New York, California and Illinois have passed bail reform laws in recent years. Some Republican states like Alaska and New Jersey also support cashless bail.
Critics of cashless bail claim it increases crime and makes it too easy for people to commit new offenses while they’re awaiting trial. They usually point to the pandemic-era violent crime spike in New York and other parts of the country, which has since largely subsided.
However, experts argue that cashless bail is crucial to prevent people charged with minor offenses from languishing in unsafe conditions in prisons merely because they can’t afford to pay bail. Researchers have found that bail reform has had virtually no effect on rearrests overall. A 2023 study noted an increase in the rate of rearrest for people considered high-risk who already had a separate case pending and were later rearrested with a violent crime.
Michael Rempel, a researcher at John Jay College, told the media that his studies have found people were less likely to be rearrested after cashless bail took effect.
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