An Algorithm Is Helping Reform The Criminal Justice System In New Jersey

New Jersey is using a new algorithm to help spark criminal justice reform in the state by removing bias from the bail system through the replacement of the cash bail system the state was previously working with.

The new risk-based system is designed to assess the potential threat defendants pose as well as how likely they are to flee before their court date in combination with their prior convictions to determine bail. Previously a judge would set a bail amount based on the crime, which left the state with poor defendants who were unable to post bail on small crimes and subsequently would have to sit in jail while awaiting trial.

Twelve percent of defendants were unable to post a bail of $2,500 or less and more than two thirds of those defendants were minorities, according to a fact sheet from the state of New Jersey.

Not only were poor defendants left in jail, but also some dangerous defendants who were capable of posting bail would be released, the algorithm is designed to prevent both scenarios.

With the new algorithm, “Judges will consider factors such as the defendant’s age at the time of arrest, pending charges, prior convictions and whether any of those involved violence, prior failures to appear, and prior jail sentences,” according to the fact sheet.

The software dubbed the “Public Safety Assessment” was developed by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, an organization aimed at reforming unequal areas of society that pose barriers to human progress. Defendants are assessed with the software and determined to be low, moderate or high risk and may be released without required monetary bail, according to the state. But highly dangerous defendants could be held without the option to post bail.