Zero-bail policy to end at county jails

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – A coverage that diminished sure misdemeanor offenses to zero bail all through the San Diego County jail system, which was instituted to scale back the general jail inhabitants through the COVID-19 pandemic, will probably be rescinded as of Sunday, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Division mentioned Friday.

The emergency bail modification enacted in early 2020 allowed these arrested for sure minor crimes resembling drug possession or petty theft to keep away from custody, whereas these already in jail for these offenses and with no different pending instances have been launched on their very own recognizance.

Based on a sheriff’s division assertion, a “vital lower” within the county jail system’s COVID-19 instances performed a big position in a San Diego Superior Courtroom order rescinding the zero-bail coverage. Beginning Sunday, these prices that certified for zero bail could have set bail quantities imposed once more. These quantities will probably be primarily based on these outlined within the San Diego Superior Courtroom Bail Schedule.

The sheriff’s division mentioned the change “is more likely to enhance inhabitants numbers within the San Diego County jails.”

Whereas the zero-bail coverage will probably be rescinded, a current California Supreme Courtroom ruling which holds that courts should think about a person’s means or incapacity to pay when contemplating bail stays in place. The Humphrey resolution holds that judges should primarily weigh a pre-trial detainee’s dangerousness and danger of flight when ruling whether or not they need to stay in custody.

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