The Bail Project: Altruism, Activism, or Fantasy
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.
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. The article argues that The Bail Project’s messaging utilizes selective statistics, incomplete client stories, and carefully framed narratives that exaggerate the number of people who are currently in jail and the reasons why. The article calls out and challenges the Bail Project’s use of unsubstantiated data and misleading claims that nearly half a million people are currently trapped in jail with no other context other than they are their simply because they can't afford a bail bond. All the while, they ignore the real reasons why people are detained prior to their cases. The piece further criticizes the Bail Project's client narratives where they omit key details about the underlying charges and judicial considerations.
One of the most interesting aspects of the article is the part where the author discusses the Bail Project’s financial structure. He points to its multimillion-dollar budget, substantial executive compensation, and reliance on research from like-minded advocacy groups. It contends that an organization whose mantra is that "money" is bad should look inside itself before criticizing others for having similar attributes. Instead, the Bail Project demands transparency and scrutiny of judges, prosecutors, and bail agents while doing everything it can to avoid the same standard of transparency regarding its own data, methodology, omissions, and institutional interests. While acknowledging the need for reasonable bail decisions and timely case processing, Morrison maintains that honest policy debate requires complete information rather than selective storytelling. An excerpt from the article is below as well as a link to the full article.
What The Bail Project Leaves Out
It asks the public to distrust every judge, prosecutor, and bail agent — so its own numbers, client stories, and payroll deserve exactly the same scrutiny.
The Bail Project has built a national campaign around a simple message: poor people are sitting in jail because they cannot afford freedom. It supports that message with large numbers, carefully selected client stories, and research produced by organizations that share its opposition to financial conditions of release.
The problem is not always that the numbers are invented. The problem is how they are used, what they actually measure, and how much information is removed before they reach the public.
