On Monday, Breitbart posted an article about a recent statement by President Trump regarding cashless bail. Some of our major cities have policies of releasing criminals without charging bail if the crime was not violent. Some cities release the criminals even if the crimes are violent. Not only does this put a criminal back on the street instantly, it provides no incentive for a criminal to stop committing crimes.
On Monday, Breitbart reported:
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to demand the elimination of cashless bail, saying the policy has failed and is endangering public safety.
“Crime in American Cities started to significantly rise when they went to CASHLESS BAIL,” President Trump posted on Monday. “The WORST criminals are flooding our streets and endangering even our great law enforcement officers. It is a complete disaster, and must be ended, IMMEDIATELY!”
Trump’s message echoes concerns he has voiced repeatedly on the campaign trail. At a Bronx rally in May of last year, Trump decried “radical left pro-crime policies” that he said have “destroyed” cities like New York.
“You know the names of these lunatic policies: No cash bail… defund our great police, sanctuary cities, release violent repeat offenders from jail,” Trump asserted at the time. He pointed to the tragic death of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller — fatally shot during a traffic stop in March by a suspect with 21 prior arrests — as a direct consequence of these policies. “These dangerous and violent repeat offenders should never have been on our streets. Jonathan should be alive today, but they were released again and again and again,” he stated.
The state of New York eliminated cash bail for most non-violent offenses in 2019. In Illinois, the Democrat-controlled legislature and Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) abolished cash bail entirely in 2023, despite warnings from prosecutors that it would create chaos. McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally observed the new system produced “absurd” and “incoherent” outcomes on day one.
Eliminating cash bail removes any respect criminals might have had for the law. When there are no consequences for breaking the law, there is no reason to stop breaking the law.