OPINION: The bail reform social experiment in New Mexico has been a tragic failure

July 1, 2017, was the beginning of the end for bail bond agents in New Mexico.

Offenders booked into county jails were no longer afforded the right to bail, instead held in jail without bond, all to be released the next day on a promise to appear and “pretrial services supervision.”

We were all promised that secured bail was all but illegal, immoral and unconstitutional and that bail reform was the answer to our state’s problems. All the while, from the governor on down to the local level, there are complaints about the massive crime problem, the revolving door at the jails and no accountability for offenders.

Well, what should be all expect when bad behavior is consistently rewarded and offenders are told they are victims of the system and have a right to be free?

Next week, the state Legislature is going to be called in for a special session to deal with crime and public safety. If bail reform is working, then why the special session?

From what is being proposed by the party in charge of this state, their solutions to solve this are simply throwing more money at pretrial services and ankle bracelets, which both have proven to be totally ineffective.

The three-day session I predict will be a waste of time and taxpayer money.

As one of the very few full bail bond agents left, I see firsthand everyday judges releasing offenders for jail after an overnight stay, in spite of lengthy criminal history, repeated failures to appear in court, severe mental health, homelessness, those passing through town, and violent career criminals.

Offenders committing these crimes know they will be out of jail in a day or two, be free to continue in their ways, have no incentive to appear in court and know that there will be no one out looking for them. And the politicians wonder why our state is awash in crime and lawlessness.

The solutions to this problem begin with judges stopping releasing these repeat offenders on nothing but a promise to appear and pretrial services supervision. Releasing someone from jail is and should be a serious responsibility with consequences in place. And under bail reform, neither is the case.

Offenders need to understand that they are in jail because they are accused of a crime and not because they claim to be poor.

Judges need to require that offenders appear in open court and stop this nonsense of virtual/Zoom court appearances. Under the current system, courtrooms around the state are empty, with the judge, court staff and the attorneys being the only ones there.

On a side note, I recently saw an offender laying in bed, while on a Zoom hearing with a district court judge, and he got away with it.

When there is a failure to appear, a warrant needs to be issued and judges need to stop just rescheduling the case or granting a continuance. When and if the offender is rearrested and there is a failure to appear in place, offenders should be required to post a secured bond before being released.

Seven years of bail reform, the Arnold tool and pretrial services supervision has clearly been a failed social experiment and continuing with it will do nothing but give us all more of the same.

It’s time for bail reform to be “reformed” and get back to the basics of requiring security and accountability from offenders. Anything short of this will leave citizens, victims and taxpayers wondering what’s it going to take.

Gerald A. Madrid is a licensed bail bond agent of 40 years.