Yolo County DA: 70% of Those Released on $0 Bail Commit New Crimes
Originally Published By: Yolo County District Attorney’s Webpage
“(Woodland, CA) – August 22, 2022 – In April of 2020, in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the California Judicial Council imposed a statewide Emergency Bail Schedule, also known as $0 Bail. Shortly thereafter, the Yolo County District Attorney began tracking the individuals released on $0 bail and rearrested within Yolo County. Despite the Judicial Council rescinding its order in June of 2020, a number of California counties opted to keep the emergency bail schedule in effect, including Yolo. On June 1, 2021 the Yolo County Superior Court enacted a new bail schedule, effectively ending $0 bail.
In June of this year, in an effort to provide some transparency on the $0 bail policies and associated data, and to better inform ongoing legislative discussions on the issue, the Yolo County District Attorney’s office conducted an analysis of $0 bail and rearrests. Recent criminal histories of the 595 individuals released on $0 bail in Yolo County were reviewed for any new arrests in the state of California. Of the 595 individuals released, 420 were rearrested (70.6%) and 123 (20% of the overall number or 29% of those rearrested) were arrested for a crime of violence. The crimes of violence included murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery, carjacking, and domestic violence.
One individual released on $0 bail in Yolo County was charged with murder in Sacramento County for a shooting that occurred in Old Sacramento in July of 2021.
District Attorney Jeff Reisig stated: “When over 70% of the people released under mandated $0 bail policies go on to commit additional crime(s), including violent offenses such as robbery and murder, there is simply no rational public safety-related basis to continue such a practice post-pandemic, especially in light of the increasing violent crime rates across California.”
