Short-Term Trends in Jail Bookings & Populations After the Pretrial Fairness Act

• NCJ Number: 311630
• Date Published: March 2024
• Author(s): David Olson; Don Stemen
• Grant Number(s): 15PNIJ-21-GG-02807-RESS
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis

Abstract

On September 18, 2023, Illinois’ Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA) took effect. The PFA not only eliminated the use of cash bail as a condition of pretrial release in Illinois, but also imposed limits on the use of pretrial jail detention. Based on interviews with criminal justice practitioners and stakeholders, there were mixed expectations about would happen to pretrial jail populations after implementation of the PFA. Some predicted that pretrial jail bookings and pretrial populations would fall. Others believed there would be no change in bookings or populations, but a change in the composition of those held – specifically, an increase in the proportion of people held on more serious criminal charges. Still others believed that jail populations would increase, as defendants who previously would have been released quickly after posting bond under the old law would now be held in detention until their cases were disposed under the new law.

As part of our long-term evaluation of the implementation and impact of the PFA, this interim research brief examines whether pretrial bookings and the size of pretrial jail populations changed across Illinois during the first few months after implementation of the law. We found that jail bookings and average populations deceased during the first three months of the PFA more than would have been expected based on historic trends, and the magnitude of these decreases varied across different regions of Illinois. The data used for these analyses are reported to the Illinois Department of Corrections’ (IDOC) Jail and Detention Standards Unit (JDSU) by each county Sheriff in Illinois. Loyola’s Center for Criminal Justice collaborated with IDOC’s JDSU to enter these data, perform some data quality review, and create a data dashboard that allows the public to examine trends and patterns in jail use across Illinois.

(Publisher description provided.)