Support for public safety report systems for violent offender bail decisions?
H.R. 8205 amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to allow Byrne grant funds to support public safety report systems. These systems provide judges and prosecutors with detailed reports on defendants charged with violent felonies, including criminal histories and bond eligibility, to inform bail decisions. The bill also requires these reports to be submitted to the National Crime Information Center and expands the definition of fraud to include bail-related crimes.
Sponsor: Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (Republican, Wisconsin, District 5)
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Opponents say
• "H.R. 8205 is yet another vehicle for Republican campaign messaging that does nothing to help the American people. This bill, which would amend the federal insurance fraud statute to define “the business of insurance” to include the posting of any kind of monetary bail, does nothing to address violent crime. It is simply another attempt by Republicans to claim that Democrats are soft on crime, and to distract the American people from the indisputable fact that crime is down across this country, and it has been for several years. Instead of leaving state interests to the states, this bill appears to target nonprofit bail funds that try to address the clear inequities that result when people without financial means are held pending trial, simply because they cannot afford to pay the bail amounts set by the court. " Source: Rep. Jerry Nadler (Democrat, New York, District 12)
Proponents say
• "The violent criminal who killed six members of our community during a Christmas Parade in 2021 should not have been out on the streets,” said Rep. Steil (WI-01).“He had a lengthy criminal history, including previously running over a woman. The attack is a stark reminder of the harm soft-on-crime policies and lenient prosecutors have in our communities. This bill takes an important step to give law enforcement the tools they need to prevent repeat offenders from endangering others." Source: Rep. Bryan Steil (Republican, Wisconsin, District 1)
• "Violent offenders are escaping jail on get-out-of-jail free cards and then turning around and murdering police officers, assaulting intimate partners, and committing many other violent crimes throughout the nation that would not have happened had judges been given a complete criminal history of a defendant arrested by the police. This legislation ends that loophole nationally, forcing states to give judges a complete public safety report prior to releasing criminal defendants" Source: Jeff Clayton, American Bail Coalition Executive Director
