The Dallas Express recently asked Dallas residents to weigh in on pre-trial detainment, which is the incarceration or potential release of arrested individuals before they stand trial.

When asked in a poll whether “charging and jailing a high percentage of arrested perpetrators rather than releasing them” was good or bad for the city, an overwhelming 74.03% said it would be good.

In recent years, there has been a push to decrease the number of arrested people who remain incarcerated before their trial. It is estimated that a staggering 75% of those in jail are legally innocent; that is, they have yet to be convicted and are awaiting their day in court.

Often, arrested individuals remain incarcerated because they cannot put up the money ordered by the court to secure their release. This system, known as cash bail, is meant to incentivize an arrested person to return after their release to stand trial. The money used for the cash bail is returned if the defendant makes all necessary court appearances. If the defendant does not, it is forfeited to the government.

Nikki Pressley, Texas director of Right On Crime, an organization that “supports conservative solutions for reducing crime, restoring victims, reforming offenders, and lowering taxpayer costs,” said that most organizations who support reforming how we handle pre-trial detainment “address only one half of the equation: individuals who are detained unnecessarily.”

“Our organization stresses the need to also address the other half: individuals who the current system releases without adequate safeguards. True, successful reform requires both,” Pressley said. “Ultimately, right now, pre-trial detention is too centered around money; it must instead focus on risk.”

When asked to opine on the results of our poll of Dallas residents on this issue, Pressley commented that the results “certainly appear to reflect the public’s recognition that some people are being released without sufficient safeguards in place.”

Pressley went on to say that the “solution, however, isn’t to detain more people, it’s to detain the right people. We need to spend our scarce law enforcement resources on the people who really need and deserve them.”

David Safavian, general counsel for American Conservative Union & ACU Foundation, believes that the overwhelming polling results in favor of more pre-trial detainment by Dallas residents “is a direct result of efforts to eliminate bail altogether in places like New York and California funded by billionaire George Soros.”

“These bail ‘reform’ laws enacted by ‘progressives’ weren’t really to improve public safety as much as they were oriented towards ‘equity’ and other woke ideas,” remarked Safavian.

The number of murders has actually risen in Dallas. According to city crime reports, violent crime is still prevalent in Dallas, and residents are looking for solutions from their city leaders to make their city safer.

The Dallas Express reached out to Dallas District Attorney John Creuzot’s office on pre-trial detainment and the findings of our poll. Claire Crouch, Creuzot’s Media & Community Relations Manager, responded, “It’s fair to say most low-level first-time offenders who pose no threat to the community should not be kept in jail, but the issue lies in how one defines ‘threat.’”

Crouch underscored that the District Attorney and representatives from his office are not present when bond is set by judges.

“Thankfully, here in Dallas, we are blessed in that this is not a huge issue, and our judges seem to strike a healthy balance in setting bonds we view as appropriate,” Crouch said. “That being said, this DA’s Office has shown in the past that when we have reason to believe someone is a threat to the community and should remain in jail, we file the appropriate motions and have even gone so far as to have a judge successfully recused from a case. Public safety is the number one priority.”

As the debate continues around pre-trial detainment and how that should be structured, The Dallas Express polling suggests that Dallas residents desire more aggressive measures to keep those charged with crimes off the street while they await trial.