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Pretrial Release Reporting Act

S. 3935 · 117th Congress · Mar 28, 2022 · Lineage

A BILL

To require the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics to submit to Congress a report relating to individuals granted bail and pretrial release in State courts, and for other purposes.

1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the “Pretrial Release Reporting Act”.

2. Findings

Congress finds the following:
(1)
Multiple jurisdictions across the United States—
(A)
broke annual homicide records in 2021; and
(B)
have reported individuals committing violent felony offenses after being granted bail or pretrial release.
(2)
The failure of felony defendants to appear for mandatory court appearances and felony bail jumping has increased in multiple jurisdictions across the United States.
(3)
The most recent report issued by the Bureau of Justice Statistics relating to the pretrial release of felony defendants in State courts is from 2007.
(4)
The National Pretrial Reporting Program of the Bureau of Justice Statistics was created to collect information on criminal justice processing of individuals charged with felony offenses in State courts, with particular attention given to pretrial release and detention.
(5)
In 2020, the National Pretrial Reporting Program of the Bureau of Justice Statistics awarded a grant of $2,000,000 to collect information relating to individuals charged with felony offenses and released from criminal pretrial detention.
(6)
Neither the National Pretrial Reporting Program of the Bureau of Justice Statistics nor the Bureau of Justice Statistics has published any information relating to the pretrial release of felony defendants in State courts since the 2020 grant award.

3. Report

(a)
In general— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of Bureau of Justice Statistics shall submit to Congress a report on information relating to individuals granted bail and pretrial release from State courts that are charged with 1 or more of the following violent felony offenses:
(1)
Murder or attempted murder.
(2)
Manslaughter, other than involuntary manslaughter.
(3)
Rape or attempted rape.
(4)
Assault with the intent to commit murder.
(5)
Assault with the intent to commit rape.
(6)
Aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, attempted sexual abuse, or abusive sexual conduct.
(7)
Battery or aggravated battery.
(8)
Kidnapping.
(9)
Robbery.
(10)
Resisting or obstructing an officer.
(11)
Carjacking.
(12)
Recklessly endangering safety.
(13)
Illegal possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
(14)
Any other violent felony offense tracked by the jurisdiction in which the offense is committed.
(b)
Contents— The report submitted under subsection (a) shall include—
(1)
the number of individuals granted bail or pretrial release from State courts that are charged with an offense described in subsection (a);
(2)
the number of individuals who, after being granted bail or pretrial release, are rearrested or charged with an additional violent felony offense;
(3)
the percentage of individuals granted bail or pretrial release from State courts who—
(A)
are charged with a violent felony offense; and
(B)
have a prior arrest or conviction for a violent felony offense;
(4)
with respect to the pretrial releases described in paragraph (2) for which the pretrial release condition was bail, the amount of bail granted for each individual;
(5)
the number of missed mandatory court appearances by individuals charged with a violent felony offense;
(6)
the factors used by State courts for assessing whether to grant bail or pretrial release to individuals who have prior arrests or prior felony convictions for a violent felony offense;
(7)
with respect to individuals who have committed a violent felony offense after being granted bail or pretrial release, the classification of the violent felony offenses;
(8)
the status, as of the date of enactment of this Act, of the National Pretrial Reporting Program of the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the activities of that Program; and
(9)
an accounting for each fiscal year of the amounts that the Department of Justice has spent, or transferred to components of the Department of Justice, in order to collect information on bail and pretrial release in State courts including, with respect to any grants or contracts awarded for that purpose, the amount and the purpose of the grant or contract.