WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Palm Beach County could soon allocate more funds to Florida State University's College of Criminology and Criminal Justice to perform research and evaluation of the county's current pretrial release practices.
During the height of the pandemic, then-Chief Judge Krista Marx issued an order in April 2020 to reduce bail from $3,000 to $1,000 for primarily nonviolent third-degree felonies. The order was rescinded in July 2021.
Regenia Herring, executve director of the Criminal Justice Commission, said they want to bring back the lower bail amounts based on the findings of a study conducted by FSU.
Tuesday's agenda states:
- "In reviewing these data, FSU learned the following: 1) money bail is the modal form of release in Palm Beach County, 2) relative to other release mechanisms used in the county (e.g., personal recognizance, SOR), money bail contributes to greater levels of pretrial detention and longer average pretrial custody lengths, and 3) money bail has a disparate impact on individuals of color."
- "In light of these observations, there is a need for a systematic evaluation of pretrial practices in Palm Beach County to understand the extent to which different release mechanisms contribute to levels of pretrial detention, and to identify linkages between mechanisms of release and pretrial compliance."
Herring said several county leaders apposed lowering bonds for all third-degree felonies, specifically those that involved children or other victims.
County leaders on Tuesday will discuss allocating $67,250 to FSU to further study the system. Herring said they will look and the ins and outs and the possibility of lowering bonds for only specific crimes.
"We're looking at what other options, what other projects, what other powers we could try to be able to make an impact where we're reducing the cost of jail beds and at the same time, we're providing people with hopefully a sustainable mental health and substance abuse support system," Herring said.
If approved, FSU would study the county's pretrial release practices until January 2023.
