In a recent study, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas asks people to imagine a Wichita-area husband and wife raising a daughter who are living paycheck to paycheck.
In this scenario, the family has a household income of $5,600 a month. Rent is $1,000 a month, which is the average cost in that area. The family also needs to pay fluctuating costs for utilities, groceries, phone bills and other expenses.
But the father of this family is arrested for felony possession of marijuana. He is held in the Sedgwick County Jail and given a $2,500 bond for release.
The ACLU of Kansas argues that the family can’t afford the cost of that bail. So the father could remain in jail on suspicion of a nonviolent crime for months, which also takes away nearly half of the family's household income. With now only $3,000 of income a month, it is virtually impossible for the family to pay for the father’s release.
Meanwhile, a wealthy person accused of the same crime may be able to afford that bail price and be released from jail the same day they are arrested.
The ACLU of Kansas study found that low-income residents in Sedgwick County are disproportionately affected by cash bail. Micah Kubic, executive director for the group, said that creates an unfair justice system that brings additional punishment for low-income offenders.
“There's something really unfair about a two-tiered system of justice,” Kubic said, “where folks get treated differently, have different outcomes based on whether they have money or whether they don't.”
Standard bail requires a person in custody to pay the entire cost up front as collateral for their release from jail. The money is refunded when their case is resolved and they appear at all their required court dates.
They may also use a standard bond, which is a private agreement with a bondsman to cover the up front cost. A bondsman will often charge a non-refundable 10% fee to pay for the bail with an agreement that the person in custody will pay the full amount if they fail to appear at their court dates.
ACLU of Kansas is calling for expanding the use of no-cash bail. That’s when a suspected offender is released from jail without paying a bail amount, but promises a judge overseeing their case that they will show up for their court dates, or else face a fine and additional charges.
Enacting bail reform to make cashless bail standard for nonviolent crimes in Kansas will likely be an uphill battle because the conversation among conservative political leaders is trending the other direction.
President Donald Trump is calling for the elimination of cashless bail nationwide. He argues that cashless bail lets criminals back out onto the streets and that’s leading to more crime.
But criminal justice reform advocates dispute those claims and suggest cashless bail actually decreases crime without unfairly punishing low-income people.
Effect on Kansas
The ACLU of Kansas study, which looked at arrest and crime data of Sedgwick County 2023 and 2024, showed the vast majority of arrests in the county were for nonviolent crimes.
The study also found that the most common bail cost is $1,000 and the average is $1,500. The average monthly income of Sedgwick County residents is roughly $3,000. So an arrest for a single drug offense would come with an upfront cost that is one-third of their monthly income.
Kubic said inmates forced to post bail are being punished before they are ever convicted of a crime. They either must pay such a relatively high bail cost or remain in jail until their case is resolved. That could also be a form of punishment because staying in jail means they may lose jobs, be evicted for failing to pay rent or leave their children without supervision.
“That harms all of us,” Kubic said. “It doesn’t improve outcomes and it makes communities weaker.”
The study specifically recommends the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office enact a policy to request own-recognizance bonds for non-person misdemeanor and felony cases, which are nonviolent crimes.
But Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said it’s not as simple as the study makes it seem.
He told the Kansas News Service in an email that bail is set by a judge, not the District Attorney’s office. He said a prosecutor can provide information to the judge about the defendant and request certain bail terms, but a judge ultimately decides.
Sedgwick County also has a bail schedule that lists a standard cost for certain low-level crimes, like disorderly conduct. Bennett said a majority of the crimes in that list uses cashless bail, so the accused offender is released without paying anything.
Bennett also noted that bail is determined by many factors, such as whether the suspect has a criminal history. He said someone with prior convictions would be facing a higher sentence if they are convicted again. He said nearly 70% of people charged with a new crime have a prior felony conviction.
“These prior convictions constitute the person’s criminal history and will obviously impact the amount of bond the Judge requires,” he said.
While the ACLU of Kansas study specifically looked at Sedgwick County, Kubic said these income-disparity issues are likely happening across the state. He said district attorneys across Kansas could request a judge to use cashless bail for nonviolent crimes more often to help address income disparity in justice.
Representatives for the Kansas County and District Attorneys Association declined to comment on the study and the ACLU of Kansas recommendation for cashless bail.
National ban
Meanwhile, the days of cashless bail in other parts of the country may be numbered.
As part of the federal take over of law enforcement in Washington, D.C., Trump signed an executive order ending cashless bail there. He also wants Congress to pass legislation banning it throughout the country.
However, it’s unclear if Congress can enact a nationwide ban on cashless bail. R Street Institute, a conservative think tank focused on limited government, suggests that such a ban is unconstitutional.
Kubic argues bail policy is better left to states.
“It is disrespectful to state and local officials — regardless of party, regardless of ideology — and their ability to do what is best for their constituents,” Kubic said.
Still, Trump argues cashless bail lets criminals out of jail without consequences and leads to increased crime rates. He also claimed, without citing specific instances, jurisdictions with cashless bail like Chicago are letting accused murderers out of jail.
“Somebody murders somebody and they are out on no-cash bail before the day is out,” Trump said during an August press conference. ”We’re going to end that.”
The Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, Trump’s alma mater, called that claim misleading. In a post on its fact checking website, the center noted that some states that have enacted cashless bail have exceptions for violent felonies and murder. It also said it’s “exceedingly rare” that a judge has let a murder suspect out of jail before trial without cash bail.
Crime rates
The Bail Project, a criminal justice reform group that supports cashless bail nationwide, directly disputes Trump’s assertion that bail reform leads to rising crime. The group notes crime rates fell in New Jersey and Illinois after both states enacted cashless bail systems.
The group also points to a 2024 study by the Brennan Center for Justices showing crime is not increasing because of cashless bail.
That study looked at crime rates from 33 jurisdictions across the country that have enacted bail reform. The study concluded that there is no evidence connecting increased or decreased crime rates to cashless bail.
Ames Grawert, who co-authored the study, told the Kansas News Services that crime rates rise and fall for many different reasons, but cashless bail is not statistically proven to be related.
“It would be surprising,” Grawert said, “if there was a single policy lever that elected officials or judges could pull to change crime rates at the drop of a hat.”
Additionally, crime rates continue to fall nationally after spiking during the COVID-19 pandemic.
FBI data shows violent crime rates continued to fall this year after rising by 30% during the pandemic, according to the Associated Press. The crime rates also fell to near pre-pandemic levels in 2022.
Grawert said communities that want to lower crime rates should consider boosting social support programs, like increased access to mental health services.
However, he said cash bail still poses the issue of unequal justice.
“A lot of people agree, even across party lines,” Grawert said, “that wealth shouldn't be what decides whether someone walks free or spends the time that they have before trial in detention.”
Dylan Lysen reports on social services and criminal justice for the Kansas News Service. You can email him at dlysen (at) kcur (dot) org.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.
