FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — An organization in Northwest Arkansas is looking to put an end to what it calls mass incarceration, and just launched a new program as part of that vision.
The Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition, or AJRC, is behind the "Hummingbird Project," which pays for some defendants' bail to keep them out of jail before trial.
While the AJRC says this helps those accused of crimes get back to their jobs and families, a local prosecutor says that paying for a defendant's bail can take away their incentive to show up to court, and they could re-offend in the meantime.
5NEWS got reaction from both sides of this issue.
AJRC co-founder and executive director Sarah Moore says she believes letting defendants get back to their lives sooner helps the community overall.
"We know that even spending a few days in the detention center has the ability to deteriorate people's lives," Moore explained. "They lose their jobs, they lose their housing, and that actually really puts them in a tailspin and destabilizes them, which doesn't contribute to community safety."
A defendant has to apply with the Hummingbird Project first to receive help.
"We do not have any criteria for what charges they are facing, we kind of look on a case-by-case basis." Moore said. "We're not saying to not hold individuals accountable, but we also don't believe in punishment before there's actually a finality and an outcome with their case."
For anyone who enters the criminal justice system, their bail is set during a pretrial hearing. The judge chooses the dollar amount based on a number of factors.
"The judge is going to evaluate each case individually, the crime, the punishment, the strength of the case, what resources that person has in their ability to post bond, and what is going to be necessary to ensure their appearance for court," Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Josh Robinson explained.
Robinson says he believes when a person has to cover their own bail, it gives them a financial incentive to appear at all of their court dates.
"The judge is going to evaluate each case individually, the crime, the punishment, the strength of the case, what resources that person has in their ability to post bond, and what is going to be necessary to ensure their appearance for court," Robinson said.
Robinson says that crime victims and the community as a whole suffers when someone on pretrial release re-offends or fails to appear in court.
"If that person is not showing up to court, the community doesn't benefit because there's going to be a warrant issued for the arrest...victims are left without justice...financial losses left unpaid," Robinson said.
"On the other hand," Robinson continued, "If that person bonds out, and they go back to their job, right, and they continue to work and pay their taxes and not get in any trouble, then you know, sure, I think there could be a benefit to the community."
In the criminal justice system, if a defendant can't afford to make bail, they can make a request to the judge to lower it.
"I think when a person is not posting their own bond that they don't have skin in the game, maybe they don't take it as seriously if somebody else is losing their money," Robinson said.
Robinson points to the murder of Pea Ridge police officer Kevin Apple as one example of how a person on pretrial release can commit more offenses.
"We have to constantly be aware of the possibility that somebody's going to, you know, commit more crimes when they get out. And it's not something that should be taken lightly," the prosecutor explained. "We've seen it in this county with Shawna Cash, you know, she killed officer Kevin Apple while she was on pretrial release...everybody is not going to end up in prison, or should they, but we have to be careful, because some people should."
Moore says housing inmates in jail is expensive to taxpayers and adds that she believes that money could be spent in better ways to help people who are walking on challenging paths.
"Too many individuals in our community are struggling with mental health needs," Moore said. "Too many individuals are struggling with trauma that has not been healed, that's not been addressed, and so they're self-medicating, or they're self-harm... we have to do a better job of putting our community resources, and that means our dollars, our city, our county, our state budgets, our federal budgets, need to stop being punitive. They have to stop being reactionary, and we have to get it on the front end."
While some inmates in Arkansas jails are there because they could not make bail, others are in the jails waiting to be transferred into prisons to serve their sentences, which feeds into the jail overcrowding problem.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.