US Edition
FACT FOCUS: Trump Claims Cashless Bail Increases Crime, but Data Is Inconclusive
LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, JUL 24 – Cities including Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Washington, D.C. report violent crime drops of up to 35%, contradicting claims that bail reform increases crime rates.
- Earlier this year, crime declined across multiple U.S. cities, including those with bail reform policies.
- Following its October 2023 announcement, the court has maintained zero bail since then, operating under the zero-bail policy for nearly two years.
- Homicides decreased 20% in the first half of 2025, with Los Angeles homicides down 14% and shooting victims down 19% in 2024.
- Myth of surging crime is debunked by both local experience and research, and studies found no evidence that bail reform affects crime rates in Los Angeles.
- Beyond Los Angeles, other cities also saw steep crime declines, with San Francisco recording its fewest murders since 1960 in June and Washington, D.C., reaching a 30-year low in 2024.
57 Articles
57 Articles
Associated Press News
FACT FOCUS: Trump claims cashless bail increases crime, but data is inconclusive
Data has not determined the impact of cashless bail on crime rates. But experts say it is incorrect to claim that there is an adverse connection.
FACT FOCUS: Trump Claims Cashless Bail Increases Crime, but Data Is Inconclusive
As his administration faces mounting pressure to release Justice Department files related the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case, President Donald Trump is highlighting a different criminal justice issue — cashless bail.
Cash bail myths debunked by plummeting city crime data
According to President Trump, large American cities are crime-infested hellholes.Last month, Trump claimed that cities run by Democrats have “heavy crime” and called Los Angeles a “trash heap with entire neighborhoods under the control of transnational gangs and criminal networks.” Earlier this year, Trump said that “[i]n major cities like New York, Chicago and Washington, mothers can’t walk their children to the park without fear of being shot …
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