How could we have ever seen this coming? When California passed measures back in 2020 instituting a $0 bail policy, it appears the rocket scientists in the state’s government had no clue that it could lead to horrible consequences.
The policy allows people in jail for certain offenses to be released without bail. It was ostensibly designed to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading in prisons. But even after the policy expired, some counties continued the practice.
Enter Yolo County.
The Sacramento Bee reported:
People released from jail under Yolo County’s “$0 bail” policy went on to be re-arrested 70% of the time, according to a new report released by the District Attorney’s Office. In April 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the California Judicial Council took the step of imposing a statewide emergency bail schedule, ending the requirement of cash bail for low-level offenders in a bid to reduce the spread of the virus among inmates. The order set bail at $0 for most misdemeanor and lower-level felony charges. The emergency order was lifted in June 2020, though individual counties were permitted to make their own decisions on whether to keep $0 bail in place.
Yolo County decided to continue the policy until June 2021.
Out of 595 people who were released on $0 bail during that period, 420 were re-arrested, with 123 of them arrested for violent crimes, with charges ranging from murder and attempted murder to kidnapping, robbery, carjacking and domestic violence.
That’s right. Over 100 violent crimes can be attributed to this ridiculous policy. Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig elaborated on the problem:
“When over 70% of the people released under mandated $0 bail policies go on to commit additional crimes, including violent offenses such as robbery and murder, there is simply no rational public safety-related basis to continue such a practice post-pandemic, especially in light of the increasing violent crime rates across California.”
This is one of many instances in which these “woke” policies result in more crimes committed by those released on $0 bail. In December of last year, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore and Mayor Eric Garcetti called for ending the policy after a rash of smash-and-grab robberies took place in the city.
The officials’ statements came as it was reported that all of the suspects arrested in 11 cases involving smash-and-grab burglaries had been released under the new measure. “As we evolved through this, there’s criminal elements that are recognizing that condition, and are capitalizing on it,” Moore said during a press conference.
Garcetti added:
“There are people who need to be behind bars. How many times does the same person have to steal a car, three, four or five times, after being released before we realize we have opened up a lot of the city, because we’re in a better place with COVID, we should be able to also open up our jails, and we should be able to have judges that put people behind those bars as well.”
What is mind-boggling about this situation is that anyone could have seen that releasing these folks on no bail would lead to more mayhem. Why did these people only realize this after the problem arose?
Yet, major cities in California, New York, and others insist on relying on these policies supposedly to promote “equity” in the criminal justice system. Meanwhile, innocent civilians are being placed at risk because these officials believe it is more important to protect violent criminals than the people on whom they prey.
Fortunately, there has been a backlash against these foolish policies and the fools who impose them. Former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin was ousted in a recall election earlier this year because of his soft-on-crime approach. LA District Attorney George Gascon managed to survive a second recall attempt, mostly because of the inept way in which the campaign to fire him was conducted. Nevertheless, it is clear that Americans are largely not in favor of these policies. The question is: What will they do about it?
