Editorial: ‘Zero bail’ and release from jail are not the same thing
Violent crime is up in California and around the nation, and many prosecutors, politicians and police officials place the blame — incorrectly — on so-called “zero-bail” policies and other changes to the traditional money bail system.
Their arguments are seductive because they are so easy to follow, inaccurate though they may be: The claim is that we reduced or eliminated the requirement that people accused of crimes be held in jail until trial unless they deposit money with the court. They argue that now criminal suspects who are arrested don’t have to pay anything before being immediately and unconditionally released, leaving them free to keep committing the same crimes over and
