In 2013 PPIC released a report about bail levels and wide variation across countries discriminate against indigent and poor defendants and lead to overcrowded jails. The report examines Bail changes since 2002.  From 2002 to 2012, county bail levels for some of the most frequently committed felony offenses increased by an inflation-adjusted 22 percent. A possible alternative at the time was active pretrial programs with some using an evidence-based pretrial risk-assessment tool. Agency staff evaluating eligible defendants along three dimensions: criminal history, employment, and residential stability, and drug use. The report also displays graphs of county variation in Bail by an offense.

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank. PPIC is dedicated to informing and improving public policy in California through independent, objective, nonpartisan research.

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^{Keywords: California, Public Policy Institute of California,California’s Jail Population, Impact of Bail}

• Bail Reform