There is no question that bail reform policies are a complete and utter failure around the country. They promise a criminal justice utopia for everyone, but deliver more crime and less justice.
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Is it just me or does every article on the subject of bail reform keep making the same basic mistake. They always talk about bail as if it were some type of unattainable price tag for a person’s liberty and freedom.
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In a recent article posted on the "Public Safety and Accountability" website, the author, Mike Morrison, analyzes one of the largest supporters of bail reform, The Bail Project, and the motives behind their actions.
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California has been at the forefront of soft on crime policies for well over a decade. And what has it brought the state and its residents? An increase crime and a decrease in defendant accountability.
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Apple has now joined the growing list of major technology platforms that are actively restricting public access to information about legitimate bail bond services
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In a sharp opinion piece, Mississippi bail agent and President of the Mississippi Bail Agents' Association, Mike Morrison, criticizes the Vera Institute of Justice’s July 17 article, “Out-of-Control Federal Law Enforcement Is Undermining Public Safety.”
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When Illinois passed the Pretrial Fairness Act (Safe-T Act) and fully eliminated money bail in 2023, reformers promised a bold new era of pretrial justice.
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The latest issue of the Texas Bail Bulletin is out and once again it is filled with great content.
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In his pointed critique, Mike Morrison, a 35-year veteran of the surety bail industry dismantles The Bail Project’s recent article claiming that most people in jail are not dangerous.
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The real question, he writes, is not whether discretion exists, but who exercises it, under what standards, and with what consequences.
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Texas attorney, Ken W. Good, a member of the Board of Directors of the Professional Bondsmen of Texas, spent some time talking with Dr. David D. Shine on the Saving America Podcast.
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If you are a resident of California, you are most likely familiar with the state’s love affair with criminals and nonsensical, victim hating criminal justice policies.
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In a recent article from President of the Mississippi Bail Agent's Association, Mike Morrison, the argument is made that the right to bail, protected by the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on excessive bail
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In the latest episode of the Bail in the Midwest podcast, host Shane Rolf interviews Mike Solan, a 27-year veteran of the Seattle Police Department and former president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild.
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If a Pretrial Services program wants more defendants, then maybe they should be more effective...
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In a recent opinion piece, the national policy director for The Bail Project, argues that cash bail punishes people simply for being poor and that charitable bail funds offer a more humane and effective alternative.
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AIA Surety released Part 6 of their article series, the Six Most Significant Bail Studies Ever Conducted. Part 6 includes the report produced by the Houston Police Officers' Union on the effectiveness of Harris County's bail reform efforts.
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From personal recognizance bonds in Harris County, Texas to zero bail in New Jersey to the complete elimination of financially secured release in Illinois, we are always hearing the same thing...the results are great
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The fifth study in AIA Surety's series on the most significant bail studies is the Yolo County Zero Bail Study, conducted by former District Attorney Jeff Reisig and released in 2023
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Nicole Martinez, President of the Colorado Association of Professional Bail Sureties, wrote an op-ed for the Gunnison Country Times this week about a consumer scam that is making its way across Colorado as well as the rest of the country.
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Conducted by University of Arizona economist Michael K. Block, Ph.D., the report analyzed more than a decade of Bureau of Justice Statistics data from California’s largest urban counties between 1990 and 2000.
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In a recent article on the AIA Surety website, cashless bail and bail reform data and claims about the effectiveness of their policies and programs are called into question.
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The next research study in AIA Surety's The Six Most Significant Bail Studies series is the Dallas County, Texas Pretrial Release Study by Dr. Robert Morris.
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It praises the elimination of money bail, the new “evidence-based” detention hearings, public defender advocacy, court reporters, and the supposed triumph of due process over “wealth-based detention.”
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On May 14, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 6260, the Keeping Violent Offenders Off Our Streets Act, along party lines as part of a broader Republican-led package targeting cashless bail policies and charitable bail organizations.
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The second study in AIA Surety's article series on the best bail studies ever conducted is the 2004 study by economists Eric Helland and Alexander Tabarrok, titled “The Fugitive: Evidence on Public Versus Private Law Enforcement from Bail Jumping.”
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Check out the latest article from President of the Mississippi Bail Agents Association, Michael Morrison, criticizing the Vera Institute and the anti-surety movement for promoting a narrative that every bail decision in California amounts to “wealth-based detention.”
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While his critique of wealth-based detention is a common talking point in bail reform debate and is expected from someone like Raskin, the facts about cashless bail, the federal system and their effectiveness tell a very different story.
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The recent decision to hold California Senate Bill 1026 (SB 1026) in committee represents a significant victory for secured release and effective pretrial release practices.
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The first study in AIA Surety's "Six Most Significant Bail Studies" article series is the Cohen & Reaves (2007) Bureau of Justice Statistics report, Pretrial Release of Felony Defendants in State Courts, 1990–2004, stands as the most comprehensive analysis of pretrial release ever conducted...
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In a recent article entitled, Did the California Supreme Court Just Remake the State’s Bail System, the Marshall Project makes the case that a new ruling by California’s Supreme Court will remake the state’s bail system
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There have been many studies done over the past several decades on the effectiveness of bail. From government studies to academic studies to independent studies, one thing has always been consistent, the results.
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In her recent article, "Why California Needs Bail," bail industry veteran Susan Shapiro, discusses the ongoing question of cashless bail vs. secured release.
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In a recent op-ed on the Crime Survivors Journal website, veteran victim advocate Patricia Wenskunas of Crime Survivors condemns U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui for apologizing to Cole Tomas Allen...
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As someone who represents one of the nation’s oldest and most experienced bail sureties, I can tell you that the team at AIA Surety invests heavily in defending, promoting, and protecting the bail profession.
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Earlier this week, a proposal to amend Minnesota’s constitution was heard by legislators. This proposal, supported and endorsed by the Minnesota Freedom Fund...
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In a functioning criminal justice system, personal responsibility is the foundation: break the law and face predictable, uniform consequences regardless of income or identity.
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California continues to care more about criminals than its own taxpaying residents. In a recent article, Yolo County District Attorney, Jeff Reisig, discusses California’s dangerous elder parole law and failed approach to public safety.
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In the latest episode of the Bail in the Midwest podcast (Episode 50), host Shane Rolf interviews Courtney Wimer, President of the Washington State Bail Agents Association.
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In a recent Tax Day op-ed, The Bail Project argues that America wastes $14 billion in taxpayer dollars every year detaining legally innocent people in local jails simply because they cannot afford cash bail.
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The proposed rules would make it significantly harder to detain defendants who miss court dates and would cap bail amounts for many low-level offenses.
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In a compelling episode of The Bail Post podcast, Eric Granof of AIA Surety strongly criticizes modern bail reform initiatives and pretrial release policies sweeping the United States.
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In a recent post on Facebook, Mike Morrison, President of the Mississippi Bail Agents Association, criticizes a growing trend in the anti-surety bail movement that elevates personal storytelling over measurable data and outcomes.
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A new article posted on the AIA Surety website by Eric Granof, dismantles the popular claim that bail reform is backed by solid “evidence-based” research.
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In a recent powerful opinion piece, longtime victim advocate, Patricia Wenskunas of Crime Survivors, argues that funding originally intended to support real crime victims is quietly disappearing
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The bail reform movement represents one of the most coordinated philanthropic campaigns in criminal justice history, with a small network of foundations investing an estimated $700-$800 million through overlapping grantees who both research and advocate for reform.
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Once citizens believe enforcement decisions are driven more by ideology than by consistent principle, public trust collapses, cynicism grows, and the social contract fractures.
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The pretrial drug testing industry—led by Averhealth, Cordant Health Solutions, and Redwood Toxicology Laboratory—has grown alongside bail reform, with 77% of pretrial programs including drug testing by 2009, and drug court testing increasing 11.7% in 2023 alone.
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A recent opinion column in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser by John Deutzman strongly opposes Hawaii’s latest bail reform legislation, House Bill 2413, warning that the measure goes too far in reshaping Hawaii's pretrial release practices
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All over the country, people are becoming the victims of sophisticated jail scams. In usual fashion, when there is something negatively impacting or threatening the jurisdiction's criminal justice system, the first ones to speak up and warn the public are licensed bail bondsmen.
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In a recent opinion piece in the Seattle Times, David Montes of the ACLU of Washington and Maddisson Alexander of Civil Standard, argue that cash bail is a discriminatory tool that punishes poverty and violates the presumption of innocence.
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This article focuses on the fact that not once in their arguments for completely altering the pretrial release process do the proponents mention the impact that these changes would have on victims
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The proposed overhaul of Washington State's bail rules cites New York and Illinois as jurisdictions that have successfully reformed their pretrial systems. But a closer look at what actually happened in both states tells a more complicated story.
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These charitable bail funds marketed themselves as a mechanism by which peaceful protestors could be bailed out. Unfortunately, what ended up happening was that these charitable bail funds didn't just bail out protestors...they bailed out anyone they could for any crime.
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So, the question becomes, why in the world would Washington State consider such a substantial rule change based on a failed Vermont policy?
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A single philanthropic funder bankrolled the advocacy groups whose reports are now cited as "independent research" in the GR9 Cover Sheet filed with the Washington Supreme Court.
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This article is part one of a five-article series on the proposed court rules being considered in Washington State. These proposed rules would completely change one of the most efficient and effective bipartisan pretrial systems in the country. The big question is, why?
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Bail attorney and Professional Bondmen of Texas board member Ken Good explained that this provision shifts more accountability to prosecutors...
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A phone rings. The caller claims your son, daughter, or grandchild has just been arrested and is sitting in jail. They identify themselves as a licensed bail bondsman or even a deputy or pretrial specialist.
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Arnold Ventures has invested $142 million in a wide range of criminal justice reforms since 2011, including $48 million for pretrial justice through the National Partnership for Pretrial Justice.
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In the heated bail reform debate on the topic of pretrial release, the recent article “Bail That Fits the Case: Why Serious Crimes Demand Serious Bond Consideration”, Cary Carlisle, President of the Florida Bail Agents Association, makes a compelling case...
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In the ongoing debate surrounding bail reform and pretrial release, many jurisdictions have shifted away from traditional financially secured bail bonds toward court-supervised pretrial release programs that emphasize “fairness”...
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The Prison Policy Initiative's narrative gaslights survivors by manufacturing a consensus that victims support lighter sentences and alternatives to incarceration. This way of thinking not only undermines public safety but also dismisses the trauma of violent offenses as a mere “myth.”
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The latest article in the Business of Bail Reform Series by JL Fullerton, covers electronic monitoring. When Illinois became the first state to eliminate all forms of secured bail in September 2023, the Office of Statewide Pretrial Services...
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Bail reform proponents have recently been focusing a lot of their articles and online narrative on the effective nature of text messages. In their opinion, if you want to get someone who is accused of a crime to show up for court all you need to do is send them a text message.
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Israel Ceja, convicted in 2000 of 20 counts of forcible rape along with assault with a firearm, child endangerment, and lewd acts against his 11-year-old stepdaughter, was recommended for early release on January 29, 2026...
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Scammers are increasingly exploiting high-stress family emergencies, particularly fake claims that a loved one is in jail, by using sophisticated tactics like AI-generated voices cloned from online audio clips
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Last summer, a violent street brawl in downtown Cincinnati gained national attention through viral videos, leaving several people injured—including Holly, an innocent bystander who was knocked unconscious.
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For years, this so called “non-partisan” group, and its broad network of other like-minded activist organizations have organized and focused their efforts on promoting bail reform, cashless bail and anti-crime victim policies.
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Patricia Wenskunas, founder of Crime Survivors, has published a new blog called the Crime Survivors Journal. The first article on this new site dedicated to protecting and ensuring the rights of crime victims...
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Bail bond scams have been running rampant around the country over the past several months. Scammers prey on the public by calling and demanding money to bail out a loved one.
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In the ongoing debate surrounding bail reform, charitable bail funds and their advocates have flooded media outlets with claims that financially secured surety bonds are ineffective for pretrial release.
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The world's largest private prison company is one of bail reform's biggest advocates. That fact alone should prompt scrutiny. BI Incorporated, owned by GEO Group (acquired for $415 million in 2011), explicitly discusses bail reform as a business opportunity.
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History has shown us that this approach is ineffective. In addition to providing an instant 90% discount on bail, it also creates uncollectible debts, incentivizes flight from justice, and undermines public safety without the oversight of commercial bondsmen.
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Have you ever wondered why so many organizations and businesses are involved in the bail reform movement? Have you ever wondered why billionaire philanthropists spend so much money trying to “re-imagine” our criminal justice system.
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Like a bad bail reform movie sequel, it appears that conversations and proposals involving pretrial risk assessments have once again re-emerged in the bail reform debate.
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If you ever questioned the validity and effectiveness of charitable bail funds, there is one video you must watch.
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As cashless bail and soft on crime policies around the country have created lawlessness in many of our communities, the natural reaction by many states has been to go too far in the other direction.
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Bail bonds serve as a critical mechanism in the criminal justice system, acting as a historical restraint on government power to ensure pretrial release without undue detention.
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In Jones County, Mississippi, a high-risk pretrial release case has exposed critical flaws in how bail bonds are determined for violent offenders.
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For years, charitable bail funds have operated in our criminal justice system unregulated and unchecked. They lobby against cash and secured bail, claiming that it is ineffective and unfair, and then ironically pay cash to release defendants on their own.
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Bail reform advocates continue to push cashless bail as a proven success that reduces pretrial detention without harming public safety or court appearance rates, but this latest article...
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The Bail Project, an organization spearheading and promoting the use of charitable bail fund initiatives around the country, is facing growing scrutiny for its dangerous and irresponsible approach to pretrial release.
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A man that was convicted of kidnapping and sexually abusing 16 children is about to be released by California's criminal loving leadership.
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In the latest podcast episode "Bail in the Midwest (Episode 47) Special Edition - The High Cost of Cashless Bail," host Shane Rolf...
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The ongoing debate over bail reform has been dominated by well-funded and well-organized progressive activist groups promoting free release for all criminals. One of these groups...
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In the ongoing debate over bail reform and pretrial release, the "10% to the court" bail system has emerged as a controversial alternative to traditional secured surety bonds.
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The cashless bail system is a key pillar of the bail reform movement. It was introduced to promote equity in pretrial release by eliminating financial barriers that proponents believe disproportionately affect low-income individuals and communities of color.
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In today's digital landscape, identifying the truth about topics like bail reform and cashless bail can be challenging due to widespread disinformation, misinformation, and propaganda.
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In the heated national debate over bail reform and cashless bail, one critical perspective is often overlooked: the real families left scrambling when a working parent is arrested for a minor offense.
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California's misguided and dangerous criminal justice policies continue to put victims last. Former Sacramento District Attorney and CEO of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, Anne Marie Schubert wrote an opinion piece on this topic in this week’s Sacramento Bee.
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The sole purpose of any pretrial release mechanism is to ensure the appearance of the defendant in court. And that “appearance” doesn’t mean you have to attend one court appearance or only the convenient court appearances, it means you must attend ALL court appearances
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In 2025, Delaware enacted a significant bail reform measure by amending its Constitution through Senate Bill 11, shifting away from a longstanding guarantee of
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When most people think of the topic of bail bonds they typically default to the narrative and opinions that are presented by the opponents of bail. Why? Because these often misguided and one-sided opinions are the only points of view that Google’s algorithm decides to share.
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For the past several years, we have listened to proponents of bail reform tell us that we can release criminals from jail without any financial security or accountability and our communities will be safer.
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Check out the new article from the AIA Surety Team on the irony of cashless bail policies. In a new report from the Bail Project, bail reform proponents are trying to link the move by several states to preventative detention on surety bail.
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If you search for the term “Bail Reform” online you will see article after article telling you how wonderful it works. And for some
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According to the blog, in the ongoing debate over bail reform, pretrial risk assessments have been promoted as a tool to facilitate cashless bail and soft on crime pretrial release policies by replacing traditional surety bail bond systems with so called “data-driven decisions.”
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The core frustration stems not from a lack of arrests, but from systemic delays: unresolved cases, routine failure-to-appear issues, backlogged dockets, and unserved warrants that allow repeat offenders to cycle through the system.
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If you want to stay informed about the latest topics around bail, this includes stories on bail reform, cashless bail, bail bond research and studies related to the bail bond industry, along with interviews with some of the leading minds in the bail profession...
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