Part 5: The Six Most Significant Bail Studies - Reisig (2023) Yolo County Zero Bail Study

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 (with a 2024 revision). This study provides one of the clearest real-world comparisons of zero-bail versus traditional posted-bail release. During California’s COVID-19 emergency policies, researchers analyzed random samples of 100 defendants released on zero bail (April 2020–May 2021) against 100 defendants released on posted bail (2018–2019), tracking recidivism, defined as any new arrest, over an 18-month period. The results were dramatic and consistent: 78% of zero-bail defendants were rearrested compared to 46% of those who posted bail. The zero-bail group committed 163% more total crimes, including a 200% increase in violent crime, 90% more new felonies, 123% more misdemeanors, and 148% more individuals rearrested for multiple new offenses.

The study’s core finding is that removing financial accountability from pretrial release—eliminating any monetary stake by defendants, families, or commercial sureties—produces significantly worse public safety outcomes. Traditional posted bail, particularly through licensed surety bond agents, creates powerful private-sector incentives for supervision, court-date compliance, and fugitive recovery that government-run unsecured systems often lack. These incentives translate into fewer new crimes and victims. In national debates over cashless bail and pretrial reform, the Yolo County data serve as a cautionary natural experiment, reinforcing that systems incorporating financial accountability tend to deliver stronger results for communities than those relying solely on unsecured release or risk assessments alone.

Read the full article on the Yolo County Zero Bail Study here >>>