The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition

America is in the midst of a crime wave, in spite of the best efforts of our progressive politicians to minimize the data. Any sentient being can observe the increase in criminality, especially in the blue inner cities that have been hardest hit by Soros-supported district attorneys hell-bent on releasing every jailed criminal and never charging the the ones who get caught.

But the relaxation or outright cancellation of bail for most crimes in many jurisdictions has made a bad situation even worse. Those arrested, even for violent crimes, are back out on the streets in a matter of hours, with no financial incentive to show up for court.

And what a surprise! No bail means more crime! I know...it's a real shock!

Study: 70% of Suspects Freed from Jail Without Bail Arrested for More Crimes

The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office, in analyzing release and arrest data during the period where the $0 bail policy was enforced, finds that more than 70 percent of those who were released without bail went on to be arrested for additional crimes.

The analysis also compared recidivism rates over an 18-month period, finding that 78 percent of suspects released without bail were found to be rearrested for crimes while only 46 percent of those who paid bail were rearrested.

Why do court cases drag on for months...sometimes years? Only a tiny percentage ever go to trial, so what, other than sloth, bureaucratic inaction, and the labyrinthine process prevents a far swifter criminal justice system?

Some of this is caused by continuance after continuance...because the perp doesn't show up for court! Well, keep him in jail over the weekend for a nice Monday morning court appearance! That would be a nice start. The DA isn't ready? Tough shit...work over the weekend. The cop is on vacation? Case dismissed.

Our criminal justice system is broken, and doing the same thing day after day, expecting a different result is insane. We can start by making the Constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial the linchpin of the system, instead of our current catastrophe of delays and continuances and dismissals and refiling of charges and bargaining down to nothing but a jaywalking ticket for aggravated assault.

But until we have the bad guys in jail, ready for trial, it will continue to get worse, which causes less respect for the law, which increases crime, which causes less respect for the law, which....

posted by CBD at 11:00 AM

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