Bail-Setting Patterns in Texas: Insights from the Public Safety Report System (PSRS)

• In Event: Pretrial Release Assessments & Bail

Abstract

Texas lawmakers are aggressively trying to expand pretrial detention across the state – often without clear facts about current practices. In 2022, the government mandated that counties report information about pretrial release decisions (release on personal bond, money bail set, remand) for initial arraignments. This paper analyzes the patterns in release and bail decisions by charge type and by county, using data submitted by counties for hundreds of thousands of cases. Broadly, judges set money bail in the vast majority of cases, across charge types (even lower-level charges) and county characteristics. This analysis also delves into counties that depart from this pattern – such as Harris County, which is under a consent decree, and other smaller counties where the underlying factors are less clear, and it considers the potential effects of more regressive bail laws on these patterns for the future.

Authors

• Ari Kotler, Vera Institute of Justice

• Beatrice Halbach-Singh, Vera Institute of Justice

• Jennifer Peirce, Vera Institute of Justice