A new report recommends that Minnesota should eliminate cash bail and instead create a system that is not based on people’s access to wealth.
Minnesota’s pretrial system relies heavily on monetary bail and disproportionately impacts people of color and low-income residents, says the study, which was released Friday.
The report was authored by the Minnesota Justice Research Center, a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization committed to criminal justice reform. The Minnesota Legislature asked the center to conduct the report in 2023 and provide recommendations to reform the state’s pretrial system.
The study, which spanned for 18 months, found that 56% of people in Minnesota jails are being held there pretrial, meaning their case has not yet resulted in a conviction, dismissal or plea. Black and Indigenous people are overrepresented in jail populations, and greater Minnesota has higher rates of pretrial detention.
“That’s troubling, especially because so much of the focus of .. a policy shift in Minnesota focuses on the Twin Cities metro area,” said Anna Hall, the study’s project lead and a criminal defense attorney. “But what we found was that racial disparities were actually highest in greater Minnesota counties for Indigenous and Black folks.”
The Minnesota constitution guarantees that everyone has a right to bail, an amount they can pay for pretrial release if they are not released based on their own recognizance. In practice, that favors those able to pay the bail or a bail bond company, the study says.
“Who gets free pretrial and who stays detained often depends on their access to money. Our research finds that our state’s pretrial system is out of step with the values that Minnesotans hold most dear,” the report reads.
What the study found
As part of the study, the Minnesota Justice Research Center interviewed people who work in the justice system, such as sheriffs, judges and prosecutors, as well as incarcerated people and community members. Listening sessions were also held throughout Minnesota, and data from the Minnesota Department of Corrections was analyzed.
The report has multiple findings, including:
- From 2017 to 2023, an average of 5,571 people were detained in Minnesota jails on a given day. Of those people, an average of 2,941, or more than half, were being detained pretrial.
- Counties in greater Minnesota have the highest rates of pretrial detention and have the highest rates of racial disparities in their pretrial detention population.
- The amount of time that people spend in jail pretrial depends on where in the state they are detained. People spend more time in jail in greater Minnesota, particularly in areas that are near tribal nations.
- Between 2017 and 2023, 40 people died in Minnesota jails.
Research cited by the report found that people who are detained pretrial can face worse outcomes. For example, being detained pretrial can disrupt the person’s ties with their community and employment, leading them to be more likely to commit a crime again.
Researchers also heard from community members that some had taken plea deals to end their detention earlier, instead of going to trial.
“The current pretrial system does little to enhance public safety or advance equity but causes injustice and harm in ways that radiate beyond the individual,” the report says.
What researchers say should happen next
The report says Minnesota should reform its pretrial system to one that eliminates cash bail, and prioritizes equity, liberty and community safety.
Under the recommended system, the state constitution would be changed, and the monetary-based detention system would be replaced with “a more deliberate detention process” that is not based on people’s access to money, the report says.
Hall said judges would consider more information when deciding if someone should be detained. Certain offenses would make someone eligible for detention, but they wouldn’t be detained automatically. A prosecutor could make a motion for the person to be detained.
“In this system, fewer people are being considered for detention, and their cases are being more carefully evaluated,” Hall said.
For those who are not detained, pretrial support services would be available to help them navigate court appearances and connect them with community programs and support. Currently, about 18 of the 87 counties in Minnesota have pretrial service programs, the report says.
Other recommendations include expanding cite-and-release policies, meaning people accused of low-level crimes would not be booked into jail and are instead issued a summons to appear in court.
Another recommendation is that all people should have access to legal representation at their first court appearance.
In Minnesota, a judge tells a defendant at their first appearance that they have a right to an attorney and appoints a public defender if the person can’t afford an attorney. But it is currently not required statewide that the attorney be at the first appearance.
The report also recommends that more services be provided for victims and survivors of crimes, especially in domestic violence cases. Hall said oftentimes survivors in those cases are not kept up to date on developments in the case.
Some counties, such as Hennepin and Ramsey, have made reforms to their pretrial system. But Hall said a statewide approach can bring more sweeping change.
While individual counties can make policies surrounding when they request cash bail, they can’t eliminate the practice entirely. A statewide change would also mean counties would have access to more funding to make the reforms.
“It’s easy for somewhere like Hennepin County to make internal changes to its bail policy, because it has the resources to do so,” Hall said. “But if we really want people to be accessing the same type of justice across the state, there has to be consistent funding to make that happen.”
Hall said Illinois and New Jersey no longer use cash bail, and she is optimistic that Minnesota lawmakers will take action to reform its pretrial system.
“We have the opportunity to transform our system into one that is more aligned with the evidence and more aligned with our values as Minnesotans,” Hall said.
