REFERENCE IS MADE TO THE RELEASE OF PERSONS ON BOND IN THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE AND IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT BOND REFERS TO RELEASE ON D. C. BAIL AGENCY, TAXPAYER SUPPORTED PROGRAM Release on Recognizance, (ROR), PRE-TRIAL RELEASE AND SOME OTHER PROGRAMS, VERY FEW OF THESE WERE RELEASED ON SURETY BAIL BONDS OR AS SOME TIMES REFERRED TO "MONEY BAIL." Emphasis supplied . "REVOLVING DOOR” JUSTICE WHY CRIMINALS GO FREE U. S. News and World Report of May 10, 1976, contained the following excerpts in reference to arrests made by Washington D. C. law enforcement in cooperation with federal agents to apprehend local burglars and thieves --"Here, for example, is what was found out about the criminals stung by the Washington "Sting": Of the 152 so far arrested, 105 were discovered to be roaming free on parole or probation for a previous offense, or on some form of pretrial release, such as bail, on pending charges. And 114, or about 70 per cent, had prior criminal records." . . . . "Also disturbing was what happened to the entrapped thieves: At least 59 have been set free on bond or some other form of release pending disposition of their cases 19 of them with no cash bond required. One of those set free was a self-styled “hit man" - a killer for hire who gave police a resume of his "experience" in hopes of getting a job with the Mafia. He was released on $1000. bond." "Americans, for years, have been frightened by the constant rise in crime. Now, along with that fear, is a growing anger. The anger is about the way the nation's system of criminal justice handles criminals." "About one fourth of all persons arrested for felonies in Washington are either out on parole or probation for some previous crime, or else are free on some form of pretrial release on a pending charge ---" Hans W. Mattick, director of the Center for Research in Criminal Justice in Chicago is quoted: "The criminal-justice system can be likened to a vacuum cleaner. The police are the mouth and the suction power. The courts are the hose. And the prisons are the bag. We've increased the size of the mouth and the suction power but not the other things." The U. S. News & World Report continues - "It is this situation that contributes to the frustrations and anger of law-abiding citizens who find it difficult to understand why the criminal-justice system appears all too often to favor criminals over society at large." "Long-standing concern about Washington's bail policies has intensified in recent months because of several sensational cases. In one case an 86-year-old woman was hit on the head in a street robbery and died. Two of her alleged assailants were released without bond. A third, at the time of the attack, was free on bond on another robbery charge." "Not long before the robbery-killing, an Amtrak employee was stabbed to death on a bridge crossing Washington's Rock Creek Park. His alleged killer was released the next day without having to post any bond." ARTICLE "D" Jail guards scarce, page 2B. By Buddy Nevins Staff Writer More than 43,000 people charged with crimes and traffic offenses in the past fie years have failed to show in court - and the list grows by an average of 91 names every working day. In most cases, nothing is done. At least 2,700 are suspected of felonies, everything Authorities blame the problem on Broward Coun- "I have not had one day, one criminal docket, "It's on a daily basis. People just don't show up for many trials because, for the most part, nothing is done to them," said Chuck Morton, the assistant state attorney in charge of prosecuting County Court cases in Broward. The no-show problem is most acute in County As of May 1, 24,864 people charged with traffic "It is becoming a heavier and heavier load," said Tamburello's staff has been adding an average of A warrant, legally known as a capias, is issued by But the Sheriff's Department cannot even serve There are five deputies assigned full time to serve "The felony suspects get top priority. That's the Besides, Butterworth said, there is no reason to Broward's jails are operating under a court order However, court officials and Butterworth warn Enclosed is a copy of my letter and related bail bond materials addressed to the abolition of commercial money bail bonds in S. 1554 and S.1630. I sent the original and 12 copies for distribution to Mr. Nash. We would appreciate your including this in your subcommittee hearing record and distributing it to subcommittee members. Thank you very much for your kind considerations. Very truly yours, Thomas Frank Thomas Frank TF:sl I represent Continental Surety and Fidelity Insurance Company and Guarantee Management, Inc., two small insurers engaged in the business of underwriting commercial bail and immigration bonds. They are based in Colorado and South Carolina, respectively, although no bail is being underwritten in South Carolina currently. On their behalf, I submit the following comments and materials in support of retaining a judicial option to use third party compensated sureties in appropriate criminal cases. Colorado, as did several states and the federal government with the Bail Reform Act of 1966, felt the need to reform its criminal defendant release and appearance laws. These perceived reform needs in the mid 1960's were focused upon attempts to set objective criteria to qualify arrested persons for release on personal recognizance. Later, in the early 1970's, organized efforts were taken to implement release of criminal defendants on a 10 percent bond payment by defendants into the registries of the courts. Colorado had then, and has now, criminal justice code provisions allowing a judge wide discretionary authority in setting the type and amount of bond for a defendant. Personal recognizance, property real and personal, and third party compensated surety (money bonds) are all permitted by C.R.S. 1973 16-4-104. Two problems motivated Colorado bond reform attempts. The first was the tendency of the judicial system to "take the easy way out" by automatically setting money bonds often by rote schedule. Defendants seeking personal recognizance or other statutory appearance alternatives had to stay in jail until the court was in session and then had to initiate such alternatives at their advisement of rights. Personal recognizance and 10 percent bail bond reform attempts therefor were aimed at setting up working systems based on objective criteria to automatically evalute arrestees for qualification for release on personal recognizance or upon the posting of 10 percent of set bond. These were ancillary systems sometimes organized within, and sometimes organized as independent projects, designed to supplement the routine operation of the criminal justice system. The second problem arguing for bail reform attention was Colorado's previous statutory standard for setting appearance bonds. C.R.S. 1973 16-4-101 formerly provided that "All persons shall be bailable before conviction, and C.R.S. 16-4-103 (2) made the primary condition on any bail bond only the likelihood of appearance of the defendant. No discretion was vested in the court to consider the probability that a defendant could commit crime while on release and no additional conditions other than appearance were allowed to be attached to the terms of the defendant's release. In 1979 the Colorado Legislature provided for the imposition of release conditions other than appearance and partially headed in the direction of the detention evaluation provisions of S.1554 and S.1630: C.R.S. 1973, 16-4-103. Fixing of bail and conditions of 89-649 0-82--19 |