Free Republic

A controversial zero-bail policy is now in effect in Los Angeles County, ending the years-long standard of setting cash bail amounts for defendants commensurate with the severity of the crime they are accused of committing -- a process critics say favors the rich while doing little to protect public safety. The new policy eliminates the existing cash bail system for all but the most serious of crimes. It ushers in a major change in how the court system deals with people who are arrested and how long they stay in custody. The zero-bail will apply to misdemeanors and specific non-violent...

Freed after two recent stabbing arrests, a man knifed a straphanger in the Times Square subway station after falling onto the tracks with him during a struggle, police said Thursday. Bernardo Carbajal got into an argument with the 52-year-old victim, believed to be a stranger, on the N train subway platform about 11:40 a.m. Wednesday, according to cops. Carabajal, 27, charged the victim with a knife and the two men wrestled, plunging onto the tracks, authorities said. After their fall, Carabajal allegedly stabbed Carter eight times, wounding him in the back, arm and neck and leaving him on the tracks....

GLENDORA, Calif. (KABC) -- Glendora police this week arrested and released a man for allegedly stealing cars and other property three times in the same day, blaming California's new zero-bail policy for their inability to keep the suspect behind bars. In early April, the California Judicial Council established a new policy setting bail at zero for most misdemeanor and low-level felonies to keep the jail population lower during the coronavirus crisis. As a result, Glendora police say, they were unable to keep a car theft suspect in custody, and ended up arresting him three times in the span of 12...

In the first 30 days of the policy, the Los Angeles Police Department has arrested 213 individuals multiple times, with 23 being arrested three or more times. They account for about 5% of all of those booked on misdemeanors or felonies, records show. LAPD Chief Michel Moore said while crime in Los Angeles is down in almost all categories since the pandemic began and L.A. implemented its stay-at-home order, career criminals are now exploiting the situation, getting arrested over and over with no real consequences. An examination of LAPD arrests shows that while arrests are down 37% in the last...