Understanding the Impact of New York Bail Reform
Overview
New York’s 2019 bail reform law was expected to reduce pretrial detention by limiting the use of money bail. The law mandated pretrial release for most nonviolent charges and required that judges setting bail consider a person’s ability to pay.
Vera conducted a three-and-a-half-year study to examine bail reform’s early implementation, impacts, and unintended consequences. Four research briefs explore bail reform’s impact on jail incarceration between January 2019 and June 2022. Two reports explore how five counties—Albany, Broome, Erie, Tompkins, and Ulster—implemented bail reform through administrative data analysis, court observations, and system actor interviews.
Vera also created an explainer summarizing existent research on New York bail reform’s impacts. Studies consistently find that bail reform had no effect on overall crime or rearrests, and interviews with system-involved New Yorkers underscore other benefits: greater socioeconomic stability and better due process. As unnecessary pretrial detention continues, the explainer includes recommendations for how New York can ensure pretrial justice for all.
Key Takeaway
Bail reform led to a substantial reduction in jail incarceration, driven mainly by a decline in pretrial admissions for low-level and nonviolent charges. However, prosecutors and judges relied on money bail where still allowed and rarely considered ability to pay. Existing racial disparities may have been aggravated in New York City and statewide jails.