Strategy 5: Encourage prosecutors to institute new policies regarding bail requests The assistant district attorney has the obligation, under law, to provide reasons for seeking bail. The district attorney for each borough could create a policy where prosecutors do not ask for bail, but instead consent to release, in cases in which there will be some additional impact on the person if bail is set, such as loss of custody of children, employment, or housing. While this policy cannot, and should not, be exclusive to women, the policy should explicitly consider factors such as a person’s caregiving responsibilities, which disproportionately affect women involved in the criminal justice system.51
Strategy 6: Avoid jail pleas at arraignments by providing an alternative to incarceration A small number of women admitted to RMSC are admitted as “sentenced� because they have taken a plea to jail time at arraignments. The majority of these women have either outstanding warrants at arraignments or long histories of criminal justice system involvement, and serve relatively short sentences, most 15 days or less. Yet even just a few days in jail can be incredibly destabilizing to the person, while yielding very little gain in terms of public safety or accountability.52 Again, the same strategies as above could be used to target women who have a high likelihood of pleading guilty to a jail sentence at arraignments because of these circumstances. Those cases should be flagged first by the CJA, and then by the service provider, as needing extra attention at arraignment. Additional information should be provided to the assistant district attorney and the defense attorney to avoid a jail plea at all costs. Alternatives to jail could include, on request of the woman, counseling, short treatment sessions if a behavioral health issue is present, or even an assessment with a community navigator and a referral to community-based services.