Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
For-profit, commercial bail exists in only two countries worldwide. It's a sector dominated by 6 large insurance corporations, which lobby to keep the system that produces two tiers of justice: one for the rich, and one for the poor.
Patreon: patreon.com/GeorgRockallSchmidt
Leave a tip: paypal.me/GeorgRockallSchmidt
Twitter: twitter.com/grockallschmidt
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/grockallschmidt.bsky.social
Sources
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2026
prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2026.html
PPI Issues: Exploitation
prisonpolicy.org/exploitation.html
Research on the costs and outcomes of detaining people before trial
prisonpolicy.org/research/pretrial_detention
Prison Industry Corporate Database
data.worthrises.org
Following the Money of Mass Incarceration 2026
prisonpolicy.org/reports/money2026.html
Making Profits on the Captive Prison Market
newyorker.com/business/currency/making-profits-on-the-captive-prison-market
Bail Bond Insurance Industry Spends to Defend Profitable Business Against Critics
insurancejournal.com/news/national/2021/03/26/607279.htm
Only Two Countries Have For-Profit Bail Systems
bailproject.org/learn/only-two-countries-have-for-profit-bail-systems
American Bar Association: How Courts Work
americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_related_education_network/how_courts_work/bail
How Profit Shapes the Bail Bond System
brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-profit-shapes-bail-bond-system
One in Five: How Mass Incarceration Deepens Inequality and Harms Public Safety
sentencingproject.org/reports/one-in-five-how-mass-incarceration-deepens-inequality-and-harms-public-safety
Challenges to Advancing Bail Reform
brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/challenges-advancing-bail-reform
How Cash Bail Works
brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/how-cash-bail-works
How Profit Shapes the Bail Bond System
congress.gov/119/meeting/house/118671/documents/HHRG-119-JU13-20251119-SD009.pdf
Unlocking the Truth: A Closer Look at Cash Bail Data
bailproject.org/data/unlocking-the-truth
PPI Issues: Jails
prisonpolicy.org/jails.html
Corporate Manipulation of Commercial Bail Regulation
columbialawreview.org/content/corporate-manipulation-of-commercial-bail-regulation
Bail Reform Act
congress.gov/89/statute/STATUTE-80/STATUTE-80-Pg214.pdf
Evaluating Firearm Violence After New Jersey’s Cash Bail Reform
jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2818885
Smart Justice - Ending cash bail
aclupa.org/smart-justice-ending-cash-bail
Bail Bond Insurers Are Lobbying to Keep People in Jail
jacobin.com/2024/10/bail-bonds-lobbyists-insurers-reform
Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited: Financial Results 2025
fairfax.ca/press-releases/fairfax-financial-holdings-limited-financial-results-for-the-year-ended-december-31-2025-02-19-2026
AFSC: Fairfax
investigate.afsc.org/company/fairfax-finl-hldgs
Five Questions about Supervised Release in New York City
bailproject.org/learn/five-questions-about-supervised-release-in-new-york-city
Trump Signs Orders Aiming to End Cashless Bail
nytimes.com/2025/08/25/us/politics/trump-cashless-bail.html
The Misdemeanor System Reinforces Economic Inequality
brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/misdemeanor-system-reinforces-economic-inequality
National Bureau of Economic Research: Misdemeanor Prosecution
nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w28600/w28600.pdf?ref=theurbanist.org
For-profit, commercial bail exists in only two countries worldwide. It's a sector dominated by 6 large insurance corporations, which lobby to keep the system that produces two tiers of justice: one for the rich, and one for the poor.
Patreon: patreon.com/GeorgRockallSchmidt
Leave a tip: paypal.me/GeorgRockallSchmidt
Twitter: twitter.com/grockallschmidt
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/grockallschmidt.bsky.social
Sources
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2026
prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2026.html
PPI Issues: Exploitation
prisonpolicy.org/exploitation.html
Research on the costs and outcomes of detaining people before trial
prisonpolicy.org/research/pretrial_detention
Prison Industry Corporate Database
data.worthrises.org
Following the Money of Mass Incarceration 2026
prisonpolicy.org/reports/money2026.html
Making Profits on the Captive Prison Market
newyorker.com/business/currency/making-profits-on-the-captive-prison-market
Bail Bond Insurance Industry Spends to Defend Profitable Business Against Critics
insurancejournal.com/news/national/2021/03/26/607279.htm
Only Two Countries Have For-Profit Bail Systems
bailproject.org/learn/only-two-countries-have-for-profit-bail-systems
American Bar Association: How Courts Work
americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_related_education_network/how_courts_work/bail
How Profit Shapes the Bail Bond System
brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-profit-shapes-bail-bond-system
One in Five: How Mass Incarceration Deepens Inequality and Harms Public Safety
sentencingproject.org/reports/one-in-five-how-mass-incarceration-deepens-inequality-and-harms-public-safety
Challenges to Advancing Bail Reform
brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/challenges-advancing-bail-reform
How Cash Bail Works
brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/how-cash-bail-works
How Profit Shapes the Bail Bond System
congress.gov/119/meeting/house/118671/documents/HHRG-119-JU13-20251119-SD009.pdf
Unlocking the Truth: A Closer Look at Cash Bail Data
bailproject.org/data/unlocking-the-truth
PPI Issues: Jails
prisonpolicy.org/jails.html
Corporate Manipulation of Commercial Bail Regulation
columbialawreview.org/content/corporate-manipulation-of-commercial-bail-regulation
Bail Reform Act
congress.gov/89/statute/STATUTE-80/STATUTE-80-Pg214.pdf
Evaluating Firearm Violence After New Jersey’s Cash Bail Reform
jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2818885
Smart Justice - Ending cash bail
aclupa.org/smart-justice-ending-cash-bail
Bail Bond Insurers Are Lobbying to Keep People in Jail
jacobin.com/2024/10/bail-bonds-lobbyists-insurers-reform
Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited: Financial Results 2025
fairfax.ca/press-releases/fairfax-financial-holdings-limited-financial-results-for-the-year-ended-december-31-2025-02-19-2026
AFSC: Fairfax
investigate.afsc.org/company/fairfax-finl-hldgs
Five Questions about Supervised Release in New York City
bailproject.org/learn/five-questions-about-supervised-release-in-new-york-city
Trump Signs Orders Aiming to End Cashless Bail
nytimes.com/2025/08/25/us/politics/trump-cashless-bail.html
The Misdemeanor System Reinforces Economic Inequality
brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/misdemeanor-system-reinforces-economic-inequality
National Bureau of Economic Research: Misdemeanor Prosecution
nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w28600/w28600.pdf?ref=theurbanist.org
