Contact:
Vera Institute of Justice: media@vera.org

NORRISTOWN, PA — Today, the Vera Institute of Justice, in collaboration with the Reuniting Family Bail Fund, published Pretrial Release and Bail-Setting Practices in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania: Findings and Recommendations, a study of nearly 1,000 hearings conducted between 2024 and 2025.

The report documents real progress: since Montgomery County’s 2022 reforms—providing defense counsel at all arraignments, creating a pretrial services department, and establishing automatic next-day bail review—pretrial release rates have meaningfully increased. These changes have also contributed to a more standardized and timely review of decisions that keep people in detention.

“Behind every data point in this report is a person whose life was affected by a bail decision,” said Angie Carpio, senior program associate at the Vera Institute of Justice. “Montgomery County’s reforms are important changes, and we see that more people are released on unsecured bail in recent years than before the reforms. That’s what good policy looks like, and it’s a model worth building on. Still, our project shows that when judges do impose money bail, it is still too often out of reach for people, which perpetuates pretrial detention based on wealth alone and not risk.”

The proportion of people released on unsecured bail has increased since 2016. Still, money bail amounts that people have to pay remain higher than what many defendants may realistically be able to afford. This risks de facto detention for people who work low-paying jobs, while a person in a similar situation with more money would be released to await resolution of their case. “Over five years, we’ve seen that even modest bail amounts keep people away from their families and jobs for no public safety reason,” said Heather Lewis, executive director and founder of the Reuniting Family Bail Fund which partnered with Vera to conduct the court-watching project. “We’ve posted bail for clients at a median of about $500. While the dollar amounts look small on paper, they are not small to the families we serve.”

Although these findings are rooted in Montgomery County, they reflect a broader challenge facing jurisdictions that invest in pretrial reform: structural change does not automatically translate into consistent courtroom practice. The report recommends areas for the county to continue to improve its pretrial system.

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About the Vera Institute of Justice: The Vera Institute of Justice is powered by hundreds of advocates, researchers, and policy experts working to transform the criminal justice and immigration systems until they’re fair for all. Founded in 1961 to advocate for alternatives to money bail in New York City, Vera is now a national organization that partners with impacted communities and government leaders for change. We develop just, antiracist solutions so that money doesn’t determine freedom; fewer people are in jails, prisons, and immigration detention; and everyone is treated with dignity. Vera’s headquarters is in Brooklyn, New York, with offices in Washington, DC, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. For more information, visit vera.org.

About the Reuniting Family Bail Fund: Based in Montgomery County, the Reuniting Family Bail Fund (RFBF) is a grassroots organization committed to ending mass incarceration and reuniting families directly impacted by the criminal legal system. RFBF’s work is rooted in the Participatory Defense organizing model, through which it supports and empowers families fighting criminal cases. As part of this work, RFBF provides bail support up to $5,000 at no charge for individuals held pretrial in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.