a small tweak with a BIG impact
instituting an online bail payment system in
Philadelphia County
Laura Buckley, Yosha Gunasekera, Cherlyn Lim, and Sabrina Maynard
March 2, 2014
1
Contents
I. Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................... 3
The Problem ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
The Solution ........................................................................................................................................................ 4
II. Philadelphia's Prison Problem .................................................................................................... 5
Problems in PPS ................................................................................................................................................ 5
Philadelphia’s Current Bail System ........................................................................................................... 5
So Why Should You Care? .............................................................................................................................. 5
A Note on Public Safety .................................................................................................................................. 7
III. BetterBAIL: A Small Tweak with a BIG Impact ..................................................................... 8
The Solution ........................................................................................................................................................ 8
Data Collection ................................................................................................................................................... 8
Significant Results ......................................................................................................................................... 8
BetterBAIL Beneficiaries ............................................................................................................................... 9
Arrested Individuals ..................................................................................................................................... 9
Families and Friends ................................................................................................................................. 10
Philadelphia Community ......................................................................................................................... 10
Legal Professionals .................................................................................................................................... 11
Philadelphia City Officials ....................................................................................................................... 11
Innovation and the Benefits of BetterBAIL.......................................................................................... 11
Chester County, Pennsylvania: A Sign of Good Things to Come .................................................. 12
Monitoring BetterBAIL ................................................................................................................................ 13
IV. Bringing BetterBAIL to Philadelphia ..................................................................................... 14
Projections........................................................................................................................................................ 14
Philadelphia’s Bail Goes Online ................................................................................................................ 14
Promoting BetterBAIL to the Public....................................................................................................... 15
BetterBAIL: Proposed Timeline ............................................................................................................... 15
V. Budgeting for BetterBAIL ............................................................................................................ 17
Competition and Grant Revenue.............................................................................................................. 17
2
The BetterBAIL Budget................................................................................................................................ 18
In Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 18
VI. Appendix .......................................................................................................................................... 19
Appendix A – Current Bail Payment Process Flowchart for an Arrested Individual ........... 19
Appendix B – Bail Guidelines (PA Code Rule 523) ........................................................................... 20
Appendix C - Focus Group Data in Detail ............................................................................................. 21
Endnotes ................................................................................................................................................. 22
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small tweak, BIG impact:
instituting an online bail payment system in Philadelphia County
I. Executive Summary
Adoption of an online bail payment system is long overdue in Philadelphia County. By
definition, judges grant bail to arrested individuals whom they deem fit to return to their
respective communities. At present, loved ones who seek to pay bail in Philadelphia must
make their bail payments in person. This means loved ones must contend with long waits in
lines, arduous journeys into the City, and periods of lost work, all to make a simple bail
payment. This antiquated hassle contributes to Philadelphia's crowded and costly jail
system and causes significant undue burden to family and community members. Four other
Pennsylvania counties currently permit online bail payment, and it is Philadelphia's turn to
adopt its own simple and cost-efficient online bail payment system.
The Problem
As of December 2013, there were nearly 8,600 inmates held in the Philadelphia Prison
System (PPS). A staggering 74% of these individuals were held "pretrial," meaning said
individuals had been arrested but a judge or jury had yet to decide whether or not they
were guilty. Many of these individuals would be able to avoid this pretrial detention period
altogether if their friends or family members could simply manage to post their bail. This
troublesome phenomenon costs Philadelphia taxpayers approximately $114 per night per
inmate and amounts to $71.6 million per year.
At present, loved ones of arrested individuals must make bail payments in person at the
Criminal Justice Center in Center City or at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in
Northeast Philadelphia. For example, it is challenging for a handicapped person to travel far
distances to Center City to post bail for her partner; as a result, her partner may sit in jail
for days waiting for the money and paperwork to process. Similarly, in-person bail
payment also makes it challenging for individuals who live outside the Philadelphia area to
pay bail for people in Philadelphia. Consequently, friends and relatives who live in distant
cities or states are effectively prohibited from paying their loved ones' bail; as a result,
individuals can spend months inside PPS.
The complications associated with in-person bail payment prove extremely costly for
taxpayers, for families and communities, and for the incarcerated individuals themselves.
Taxpayers must cover the staggering expenses of keeping thousands of pretrial persons
incarcerated. Additionally, pretrial prisoners are absent from their families and
communities and may sit behind bars for months while they await trial. Many incarcerated
individuals do not want to inconvenience their loved ones with the travel and
4
complications required for in-person bail payment. This is especially true for loved ones
who are ill or who live outside of Philadelphia.
The Solution
We propose that Philadelphia County adopt online bail payment technology. Allowing
people to post bail online will promote expediency and will augment the pool of people
available to post bail for incarcerated individuals. For example, one's elderly grandparent
or “auntie” in Florida would, for the first time, be able to post his or her bail. Ultimately, this
will reduce the number of PPS prisoners, as more bail-eligible individuals will be able to
make their bail.
BetterBAIL is a cost-effective and straightforward way to reduce the number of pretrial
inmates in Philadelphia County. We propose drawing upon the existing online bail payment
system that is currently in use in Erie, Chester, Westmoreland, and Delaware Counties to
create a system that works for Philadelphia County. At present, the four aforementioned
counties operate their respective online payment systems through the Administrative
Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC). Existing Help Desk personnel staff the AOPC's ePay
hotline and answer calls from individuals seeking to pay bail online. We are confident that
Philadelphia will benefit from the adoption of an online bail payment system.
5
II. Philadelphia's Prison Problem
Problems in PPS
The extent to which the Philadelphia Prison System (PPS) is overcrowded and costly is
well-documented.i As of December 2013, there were nearly 8,600 inmates held in PPS.ii A
staggering 74% of these individuals were held "pretrial,"iii meaning that said individuals
had been arrested but a judge or jury had yet to determine whether or not they were guilty.
Nearly 30% of these pretrial individuals would be able to avoid this pretrial detention
period altogether if their friends or family members could simply manage to post their
bail.iv This troublesome phenomenon costs Philadelphia taxpayers approximately $114 per
night per inmatev and amounts to $71.6 million1 in taxpayer expenses every year.
Over 6% of the $3.75 billion Fiscal Year 2014 Philadelphia City Budget is devoted to
funding the Philadelphia Prison System; this $239 million spent on PPS is greater than the
amount spent on Parks and Recreation, Public Health, and Sanitation, combined.vi This
budgeted amount marks a 5% increase over the $228 million in City funds spent on PPS in
Fiscal Year 2013.vii
Philadelphia’s Current Bail System
The current bail payment system in Philadelphia is complicated and requires in-person
payment. The process begins when an arrested individual is charged by the District
Attorney. A judge then follows bail guidelines to determine if bail is necessary and, if so, he
or she sets the amount of bail for the arrested individual. The individual must pay 10% of
his or her bail to be released.viii (For a closer look at the arrest and bail-setting processes,
please see Appendix A and Appendix B, respectively.)
A loved one can pay bail for an arrested individual in two places: in person at the Criminal
Justice Center (CJC) in Center City or in person at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional
Facility (CFCF) on State Road in Northeast Philadelphia.ix The more popular option is the
Criminal Justice Center Payment Centerx at 1301 Filbert Street, which is open 24 hours per
day, seven days a week. The CFCF location is open Monday to Friday, 10:00AM to 6:00PM.xi
Typically, once the payment has been processed, administrators fax paperwork to the
facility in which the arrested individual is held.xii Alternatively, some loved ones elect to
take the paperwork up to CFCF themselves in order to bypass this notoriously slow
process.xiii
So Why Should You Care?
The current system is not sustainable: with rising annual costs, Philadelphia cannot wait to
take steps to address its ballooning prison population. Philadelphia County has more
prison inmates than any other county in Pennsylvania.xiv In fact, there are nearly three
times as many inmates in Philadelphia as there are in Allegheny, the county with the nextmost populous prison system in Pennsylvania.xv Philadelphia supplies 12% of the total
This calculation was derived as follows: (.2 overall pretrial rate) x (8600 prisoners) x ($114 per inmate per night) x (365 days per year)
= $71,569,200.
1
6
population in Pennsylvaniaxvi and a disproportionate 16.5% of the state's prison
population.xvii These asymmetrical percentages suggest that the magnitude of
Philadelphia's prison population may be too large.
The following chart outlines the extent to which Philadelphia's spending on prisons has
increased since 2006:
Source: Office of the Director of Finance "Budget in Brief" reports (FY2006-FY2014)
Since Fiscal Year 2006, Philadelphia prison spending has increased nearly 30%. Despite an
observable decrease in spending following Fiscal Year 2010, annual prison spending in
Philadelphia began to rise once again in Fiscal Year 2013 and reached $239 million in Fiscal
Year 2014.
We, the four graduate students of Team BetterBAIL, have backgrounds in criminal justice
and law enforcement issues and have seen firsthand the extent to which the current system
in Philadelphia is costly, overcrowded, and ultimately unsustainable. Through
conversations with City and state officials, attorneys, social workers, consultants, scholars,
and former PPS prisoners and their families, we sought to identify a tenable, concrete
change to the existing system in order to help reduce the pretrial population while still
maintaining public safety. We are confident that reducing the pretrial population will have
positive effects on would-be prisoners, their families and communities, and the taxpayers
of Philadelphia.
Upon discovery that Philadelphia still maintains an in-person bail payment system, we saw
7
an ideal opportunity to implement an easy online bail payment alternative that will
constitute a small tweak with a BIG impact. While we recognize online bail payment
technology will not constitute a panacea, it is certainly a tangible start.
A Note on Public Safety
The proposal outlined in this document reflects intent to make it easier for individuals who
have been granted bail to actually pay their bail; we do not seek to alter existing bail
policy in any way. Individuals for whom our proposal would apply have already been
granted bail by a judge, meaning that said individuals have been cleared to return to their
communities, provided they or their loved ones can pay their bail. By seeking to streamline
existing infrastructure with an online payment alternative, we aim to improve the process
of bail payment.
8
III. BetterBAIL: A Small Tweak with a BIG Impact
The Solution
We propose Philadelphia opt in to the new online bail payment portal run by the
Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC). Philadelphia must not wait to begin
to benefit from simple, cost-effective technology that can make individuals' lives easier and
will ultimately reduce the pretrial population in PPS at no cost to taxpayers. By definition,
judges grant bail to arrested individuals whom they deem fit to return to their respective
communities, provided bail for those individuals can be made.xviii At present, Philadelphia's
in-person bail payment requirement means those who seek to pay bail must contend with
long waits in lines, arduous journeys into the City, and periods of lost work, all to make a
simple bail payment. This antiquated inconvenience contributes to Philadelphia's crowded
and costly jail system and causes significant undue burden and hassle to family and
community members. Four other Pennsylvania counties currently permit online bail
payment, and we believe it is Philadelphia's turn to adopt inexpensive online bail payment
technology that is long past due.xix
Data Collection
Through focus groups and one-on-one interviews, we met with a convenience sample of 42
program participants from Philadelphia FIGHT’s Institute for Community Justice. All
interviewed individuals have a history of incarceration, and many of these individuals were
recently released from the Philadelphia Prison System. Thirty-five of our 42 participants
completed surveys quantifying their experience with the existing bail system in
Philadelphia. They also shared their views on our online bail payment technology
proposal.xx
Significant Results
(For a more comprehensive breakdown of these numbers, please refer to Appendix C).
9
BetterBAIL Beneficiaries
The benefits of adopting an online bail payment system in Philadelphia would not simply
be limited to the arrested individuals themselves. Online bail payment would mean that
more individuals would be able to make their bail; in turn, these individuals would be
present in their communities to be with their families, to work, and to patronize local
businesses. The ensuing cost savings associated with a reduction in the pretrial bail-eligible
population would free up City taxpayers' money for alternative purposes, meaning that the
Mayor and City Council would be able to reduce PPS funding allocations in ensuing fiscal
years in order to devote additional resources to other purposes at their discretion. These
other purposes might include streets, parks, public health, or other purposes that benefit
Philadelphia and its taxpayers.
The following ripple chart reveals the extent to which this simple innovation in the way
bail is paid in Philadelphia would impact an array of groups and individuals throughout
Philadelphia:
Additional discussion of these groups follows in the sections below.
Arrested Individuals
Nearly 66% of surveyed individuals indicated they had challenges posting bail in
Philadelphia County. “If you do not post bail before the bus to CFCF comes,2 it’s a long
process,” said a recently released individual in one focus group. xxi For those individuals or
family members who have the money to post bail immediately, the current paperwork
process can still take anywhere from 8 to 36 hours.xxii
Furthermore, some individuals held pretrial have loved ones outside of Philadelphia
Arrested individuals are brought to the nearest District Court or to the Philadelphia Police Administration Building, also known as the
Roundhouse. The Sheriff’s Department then transports these individuals to the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility (CFCF), the intake
jail in Northeast Philadelphia.
2
10
County who would be willing to post their bail, but are unable to do so because bail must be
posted in person. One individual whose family is from New Jersey spent nearly 12
months in PPS: “[The bail] was 110 bucks with the paperwork at that time, but I couldn’t
pay the bail. I didn’t have the money.”xxiii He did not want to burden his family members
with the travel and associated hassle. As a result, he was unable to maintain employment or
contribute economically to his community during his lengthy detention period. When
questioned whether he would have asked his family members in New Jersey to post bail
online if it were an option, he responded, “Yeah. Oh yeah. It’s convenient!”xxiv
Our combined survey results indicated nearly 80% of focus group participants
would use the online payment system if it were an option.xxv
Families and Friends
Loved ones of arrested individuals also benefit from an online bail payment system for two
key reasons. An online bail payment system would mean that loved ones would have their
family members and/or friends at home. Loved ones would also avoid the expenses of
paying bail in person.
The current in-person payment system had a devastating effect on one wife of an arrested
individual; she suffers from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and HIV, and she had
to be hospitalized after her grueling journey to post bail in Philadelphia County during the
winter. Money was no object in her case, as she had the $1,500 required to release her
husband:
“I was sick at the time. I was living near Frankford Hospital, I was sick. So I
had to go all the way downtown with his money, sit and wait on this
enormous, enormous, line just to pay the bail. After I got and paid the bail, I
had to catch the bus all the way to the prisons and wait 5 or 6 hours just to
get him out. It would have truly been better for my health because I got real
sick, even sicker because it was wintertime. And I ended up in the hospital.
So paying online would have been really convenient for me and it would
have been better for my health [emphasis ours].”xxvi
Another focus group participant touted the potential benefits of paying bail online: “All the
members in my family are ill, why would I have them come all the way down to the
Criminal Justice Center?”xxvii
Philadelphia Community
Preliminary online bail payment transaction data from Chester County suggests that
Philadelphia would have saved approximately $2.2 million on prison expenses in
2013 if an online bail payment system had been in place.xxviii
This projected savings reflects a rate of return on investment of nearly $190 to $1 for
our proposal.3
3
This calculation was derived as follows: ($2,163,689 estimated savings)/($11,500 budget) = $188.
11
Reductions in annual spending on the Philadelphia Prison System would signal to City
Council and the Mayor that less money is needed for prisons in ensuing Fiscal Years. Thus,
at the discretion of City Council and the Mayor, future Philadelphia City Budgets could
reflect new General Fund appropriations to alternative public purposes, such as sanitation,
parks and recreation, public health, and/or other public safety initiatives.
Legal Professionals
Numerous legal professionals in Philadelphia are in support of an online bail payment
system. David Rudovsky, a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School
and a prominent practicing civil rights lawyer, made the following statement about online
bail payment:
“An online bail project should be implemented in the City of Philadelphia.
Not only would it expedite the release of pre-trial inmates from unnecessary
detention and let them better prepare their cases for trial, but it would save
the City the high costs of incarceration. In the digital age, this is a logical and
worthwhile advance [emphasis ours].”xxix
Other criminal law attorneys in Philadelphia have also stated that an online bail payment
system would enable out-of-town relatives to post bail for arrested individuals. This would
save their clients time and money.
Philadelphia City Officials
Mayor Michael Nutter’s Office has proven receptive to the idea of implementing an online
bail payment system in Philadelphia.xxx Prior to our team's involvement in the 2014
Public Policy Challenge, the City had been unaware that online bail payment was
even an option.xxxi This enthusiasm from the City is unsurprising in light of other City
innovations. (For more information, refer to the “Innovation and the Benefits of
BetterBAIL” section, below.)
Innovation and the Benefits of BetterBAIL
BetterBAIL is innovative because it takes an existing system and makes it more efficient.
The current in-person bail payment requirement is obsolete. Forcing individuals to pay bail
in person only serves to clog up an already overburdened prison system, to waste
taxpayers' money, and to force individuals to take time off from work just to do something
that could be done online in a fraction of the time. Introducing an online bail payment
alternative in Philadelphia would enable individuals to avoid the numerous costs
associated with paying bail in person.
Online bail payment, while novel and innovative in Philadelphia, has been implemented in
other locations. Within Pennsylvania itself, four counties have adopted online bail payment
technology: Delaware, Erie, Chester, and Westmoreland Counties.xxxii Having four counties
in Pennsylvania adopt online bail payment technology successfully is promising because it
is clear that online bail payment is possible within Pennsylvania.
While these four Pennsylvania counties have smaller populations than Philadelphia, it is
12
worth noting that New York City has also managed to incorporate and sustain its own
online bail payment alternative.xxxiii
BetterBAIL brings Philadelphia up to speed with current technology and pairs well with
other innovative City technology initiatives. Since Mayor Michael Nutter took Office in
2008, his administration introduced "KeySpot" Internet access locations, developed the
City's 311 system, and incorporated "ePay" portals for an array of municipal payment
purposes. Convenient "KeySpot" locations are community centers that bring Internet
access to underserved communities throughout Philadelphia. Under the innovative online
bail payment system, community members who might not otherwise have access to the
Internet would be able to visit their nearest KeySpot location to pay bail online for their
loved ones if necessary.xxxiv
Mayor Nutter's administration has also overseen adoption of Philadelphia's robust 311
systemxxxv and a variety of online "ePay" payment alternatives.xxxvi The 311 initiative was
created in response to the need for an efficient, convenient system through which to
connect citizens with City government. Online "ePay" payment alternatives also allow
citizens to make payments for municipal fees and fines easily and conveniently. Both
initiatives are similar in spirit to our online bail payment alternative, as they make it easier
for citizens to interact with their City government in an expedient and convenient manner.
Both initiatives also save precious City and citizen resources by streamlining processes.
Currently, ePay processes over 375,000 transactions for payments of fines and fees
annually to the tune of $80 million.xxxvii The sweeping success of ePay alone is a positive
indicator of the immense potential of an online bail payment system.
One focus group participant said it best: “This is a technology age, it’s 2014, you don’t have
to physically go somewhere and put money in somebody's hands. [An online bail payment
system is] a whole lot easier.”xxxviii
Chester County, Pennsylvania: A Sign of Good Things to Come
Chester County, the first county in Pennsylvania to adopt online bail payment technology,
has had its online payment alternative in place since October 2012. At present, Chester is
the only county in Pennsylvania for which there is a full year's worth of data (2013). 4 xxxix
By using the number of 2013 online bail payment transactions in Chester County (125) and
a projected 20% overall bail-eligible pretrial population (1,087 total inmates, 217 of whom
are estimated to be bail-eligible), we determined that the approximate rate of use for the
online system among relevant, bail-eligible pretrial inmates represents 36.5% of Chester
County's December 2013 prison population.xl
By using 2013 inmate population data and assuming a comparable rate of online bail
According to Kim Nieves at AOPC (2/14/14), Delaware County adopted the system on 8/5/13, Erie County adopted the system on
10/28/13, and Westmoreland County adopted the system on 12/2/13.
4
13
payment usage in Philadelphia, we determined Philadelphia would have had nearly 630
online bail payment transactions in 2013. Assuming that each transaction would represent
a per-inmate savings of 30 prison "bed nights" each, Philadelphia would have saved $2.2
million in 2013 if an online bail payment system had been in place.
AOPC representatives indicated that they have not done any publicity surrounding the
launch of their online bail payment system, meaning that the rate of usage would likely
grow following successful targeted publicity efforts.xli We would seek to head off any
potential information gap in Philadelphia by developing and disseminating targeted
brochures to relevant parties, as outlined in the "Promoting BetterBAIL to the Public"
section, below. By increasing public awareness of the online bail payment system, we
would be able to grow the rate of use. This will save additional taxpayer dollars.
Monitoring BetterBAIL
Our proposal seeks to provide eligible pretrial individuals and their loved ones with a more
convenient alternative means of paying bail. In order to determine the extent to which
individuals use the online system in Philadelphia, we would ask AOPC to produce quarterly
reports that outline online bail payment transaction data in Philadelphia. Currently, AOPC
collects usage data from the four Pennsylvania counties that have adopted AOPC's online
bail payment system to date.xlii Our proposal intends to leverage this existing data
collection process to monitor online bail payment system usage in Philadelphia.
In addition to monitoring the usage, we propose that the online payment confirmation page
include the following two short survey questions for individuals who pay bail online:
The first survey question is designed to enable us to understand the impact of our system.
The second question is designed to identify which marketing channels prove most effective
in publicizing the existence of the online bail payment system to users. We will monitor the
quarterly survey and usage data during the first year of implementation and will adjust our
publicity plans in accordance with the data we collect.
14
IV. Bringing BetterBAIL to Philadelphia
In addition to running focus groups with individuals who have a history of incarceration,
we also conversed with the following relevant stakeholders and experts:
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Staff from Philadelphia FIGHT’s Institute for Community Justice;
Public Financial Management consultants;
Staff in the Philadelphia Office of the Director of Public Safety;
Staff in the Philadelphia Office of Innovation and Technology;
Staffers and statisticians at the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts;
Professors at the Fels Institute of Government and Penn Law; and
Administrators in the Chester, Delaware, Erie, and Westmoreland County Clerks'
Offices.
Many of these stakeholders would prove instrumental in ensuring the success of online bail
payment in Philadelphia. While most experts were reluctant to share their names, their
overall response to our proposal was overwhelmingly positive.
Projections
While the aforementioned estimates of success in Philadelphia County are preliminary, it is
worth considering the following:
● A 5% reduction in the average daily bail-eligible pretrial population would save
approximately $3.5 million per year5;
● A 10% reduction would save approximately $7 million per year; and
● A 15% reduction would save approximately $10.5 million per year.xliii
These figures do not take into account the staggering costs borne by individuals, their
families and communities, meaning that actual monetary and opportunity cost savings
would likely be significantly higher.
Philadelphia’s Bail Goes Online
If Philadelphia Court administrators decide to adopt online bail payment technology, they
must simply convey their interest to AOPC.xliv AOPC representatives confirmed that
Philadelphia Court administrators would simply need to inform AOPC of their interest for
AOPC to commence its implementation process.xlv Upon confirmation of Philadelphia’s
interest, AOPC would handle the logistics of adopting the online portal and would train
Philadelphia Court administration staff to use the online bail payment system. Following
completion of the training process, AOPC would adjust its portal settings to go live with
online bail payment technology in Philadelphia. AOPC does not charge Pennsylvania
counties to implement its services. 6 xlvi
5
This calculation was derived as follows: (.05 inmate reduction) x ($71,569,200 spent on pretrial prisoners) = $3,578,460.
According to the PAePay Bail website, AOPC’s system includes a $2.75 administrative fee for each online bail payment transaction. This
issue was discussed during focus groups held on 2/7/14 and 2/11/14, and 77% of participants say they would utilize online bail
payment technology even if it required a nominal fee.
6
15
Promoting BetterBAIL to the Public
AOPC has confirmed that it has not done and does not do publicity regarding online bail
payment for counties that opt in to its online bail payment system.xlvii Hence, we will take
steps to fill this critical gap. Prior to, during, and immediately following the adoption of
online bail payment technology in Philadelphia, we will work with a third-party vendor to
design, print and distribute English and Spanish brochures to individuals who interact with
arrested individuals and their families on a daily basis. These individuals and groups
include, but are not limited to, the following: court staff, relevant non-governmental
organizations, attorneys, public defenders, local criminal defenders, Community Legal
Services of Philadelphia, KeySpot staff, social workers, and local law schools and their
respective clinics. These brochures will outline the in-person and online bail payment
processes, will contain the AOPC's direct ePay hotline number, and will point users toward
the Philadelphia 311 number they can call to identify places with Internet access in their
communities.
We spoke with representatives in the four Pennsylvania counties that have adopted this
technology to date, and they indicated that public familiarity with the online payment
system was limited.xlviii As a result, representatives suggested that more people would use
the online payment system if more people knew that it existed.xlix We seek to combat this
anticipated knowledge gap by undertaking the aforementioned publicity efforts ourselves.
We will also work with the team that manages the Philadelphia Court's website7 to update
the existing site to reflect adoption of the online bail payment alternative. Promotion of this
technology should exist in several places on the website, including the “Online Services”
dropdown menu and hub page, the “Make Payments” permanent sidebar, and the “How do
I?” hub page. These promotion techniques will increase the likelihood of reaching
individuals who are more likely to interact with PPS inmates and their families as they seek
to navigate the bail payment process.
BetterBAIL: Proposed Timeline
We have developed the following 90-day timeline following Philadelphia's decision to opt
in to the online bail payment system:
7
The Philadelphia Court's website is located at http://www.courts.phila.gov/.
16
In the days and weeks following the initial implementation, we will continue to monitor
transaction and survey data as outlined in the “Monitoring BetterBAIL” section, above. This
will enable us to reassess and revise the implemented online bail system.
17
V. Budgeting for BetterBAIL
Competition and Grant Revenue
While the physical implementation of the online bail payment program costs virtually
nothing, there are still critical costs associated with ensuring that Philadelphia's adoption
of this technology proves successful. If our team is fortunate enough to win the Challenge,
we will use our winnings to design and print targeted brochures outlining the bail payment
process in Philadelphia, as discussed in our "Promoting BetterBAIL to the Public" section,
above. These brochures will be made available for individuals working within the criminal
justice system and will outline the in-person and online bail payment processes, contain
the AOPC's direct ePay hotline number, and point users toward the Philadelphia 311
number they can call to identify places with Internet access in their communities.
We also intend to apply to the Mayor's Fund for Philadelphia for additional funding. The
Mayor's Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that "advances the Mayor's goals
through facilitation of public-private partnerships for the benefit of the people of
Philadelphia." This year's Challenge Finalists have been fortunate enough to receive an
invitation to apply for grant funding through the Mayor's Fund. The Fund seeks to support
policy problem-solving efforts that are relevant to one or more City Agencies, provided that
applicants pursue and obtain support from one of the City's Deputy Mayors.l
According to an official in the City's Public Safety Office, our proposal to implement an
online bail system is a “no-brainer.”li Our proposal is a natural fit for the Mayor's Fund for
Philadelphia, as our idea is simple and requires the City's direct involvement in
implementation. In keeping in line with the mission of the Fund, our proposal represents
an initiative that reflects the Mayor's priority to innovate in order to improve quality of life
in Philadelphia. Adoption of online bail payment technology would reflect innovation in the
criminal justice system, as it would simplify the current outdated bail payment process for
Philadelphia citizens and their communities. KeySpot, ePay, and 311 initiatives reflect the
Nutter Administration's commitment to improving customer service in Philadelphia, and
our online bail payment proposal emulates this spirit.
We intend to apply for an additional $6,500 in funding during the upcoming Spring 2014
application round with the express intent of covering our consulting fees going forward.
During the implementation process, one of us will devote ten hours per week at $25 per
hour towards interfacing with the City, AOPC, and other relevant parties in and around the
Philadelphia criminal justice system.
18
The BetterBAIL Budget
Our full budget is outlined as follows:
According to our estimates using Chester County transactional data, this $11,500 outlay
represents a rate of return on investment of nearly $190 to $1. This rate of return is
likely to prove even higher following successful publicity efforts.
In Conclusion
We are confident that our online bail payment proposal will, once implemented in
Philadelphia County, constitute a small tweak with a BIG impact. Improving the manner in
which individuals pay bail in Philadelphia will lead to a reduction in the number of
individuals held pretrial in Philadelphia. This will benefit taxpayers, communities,
government officials, attorneys, social workers, and incarcerated individuals themselves.
For any questions regarding our proposal, please email us at BetterBail2014@gmail.com.
19
VI. Appendix
Appendix A – Current Bail Payment Process Flowchart for an Arrested
Individual
You are arrested and charged by
District Attorney’s Office.
Judge follows bail guidelines to determine if bail is
necessary and, if so, the bail amount.
No
Does the Judge
set bail?
No
You are released on
your own recognizance.
You are detained.
Yes
Do you have cash
on hand?
Yes
You pay bail with cash
and are released.
No
You stay where you are.
Do you have a loved
one who is able to
post bail for you?
No
You will be transported to the
Curran-Fromhold Correctional
Facility (CFCF), the intake jail in
Northeast Philadelphia. It is possible
that you will spend at least one night
in the Philadelphia Prison System.
Yes
Call your loved one.
No
Does your loved one have
access to funds and
transport to post bail?
Yes
Your loved one travels to the Criminal Justice Center (CJC) in
Center City.
CJC processes the paperwork and
faxes it up to CFCF. *Your loved one
can choose to travel to CFCF with the
paperwork so you can be released more
promptly.
You are notified that your bail has
been paid. You are released and
reminded to show up at your
court date.
20
Appendix B – Bail Guidelines (PA Code Rule 523)
Release Procedures
Rule 523. Release Criteria.
(A) To determine whether to release a defendant, and what conditions, if any, to impose,
the bail authority shall consider all available information as that information is relevant to
the defendant’s appearance or nonappearance at subsequent proceedings, or compliance
or noncompliance with the conditions of the bail bond, including information about:
(1) the nature of the offense charged and any mitigating or aggravating factors that may
bear upon the likelihood of conviction and possible penalty;
(2) the defendant’s employment status and history, and financial condition;
(3) the nature of the defendant’s family relationships;
(4) the length and nature of the defendant’s residence in the community, and any past
residences;
(5) the defendant’s age, character, reputation, mental condition, and whether addicted to
alcohol or drugs;
(6) if the defendant has previously been released on bail, whether he or she appeared as
required and complied with the conditions of the bail bond;
(7) whether the defendant has any record of flight to avoid arrest or prosecution, or of
escape or attempted escape;
(8) the defendant’s prior criminal record;
(9) any use of false identification; and
(10) any other factors relevant to whether the defendant will appear as required and
comply with the conditions of the bail bond.
(B) The decision of a defendant not to admit culpability or not to assist in an investigation
shall not be a reason to impose additional or more restrictive conditions of bail on the
defendant.
21
Appendix C - Focus Group Data in Detail
22
Endnotes
The Pew Charitable Trusts, “Philadelphia’s Less Crowded, Less Costly Jails” (2011)
http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Philadelphia_Research_Initiative/Philadelphia-JailPopulation.pdf; The Pew Charitable Trusts, “Philadelphia’s Crowded Costly Jails: the Search for Safe Solutions” (2010),
http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Philadelphia_Research_Initiative/Philadelphias_Crowded_Costly
_Jails_rev.pdf
ii Email Correspondence: Julie Wertheimer, Office of the Director of Public Safety (2/20/14)
iii Ibid.
iv Ibid.
v Ibid.
vi Philadelphia FY2014 “Council Approved Budget in Brief”
vii Philadelphia FY2013 “Council Approved Budget in Brief”
viii The Pew Charitable Trusts, “Philadelphia’s Crowded Costly Jails: the Search for Safe Solutions” (2010)
ix Pretrial Services Division, www.courts.phila.gov/common-pleas/trial/criminal/pretrialsvcs.asp
x Focus Group (1/13/14), Focus Group (2/7/14), Focus Group (2/11/14)
xi Pretrial Services Division, www.courts.phila.gov/common-pleas/trial/criminal/pretrialsvcs.asp
xii Phone Correspondence: Criminal Justice Center Bail Staff (2/10/14)
xiii Focus Group (1/13/14), Focus Group (2/7/14), Focus Group (2/11/14)
xiv Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency Dashboards, pacjabdash.net
xv Ibid.
xvi Ibid.
xvii Ibid.
xviii 234 Pa. Code Rule 523
xix PAePay Bail, http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/Bail/SubscribedCourts.aspx
xx Focus Group (1/13/14), Focus Group (2/7/14), Focus Group (2/11/14)
xxi Focus Group (1/13/14),
xxii Ibid.
xxiii Ibid.
xxiv Ibid.
xxv Ibid.
xxvi Ibid.
xxvii Ibid.
xxviii Email Correspondence: Kim Nieves, AOPC (2/14/14)
xxix Email Correspondence: David Rudovsky, University of Pennsylvania Law School (2/20/14)
xxx Email Correspondence: Julie Wertheimer, Office of the Director of Public Safety (2/11/14)
xxxi Ibid.
xxxii Clerk of Courts of Chester, Westmoreland, Delaware, and Erie Counties
xxxiii City of New York Department of Corrections, http://www.nyc.gov/html/doc/html/how/post_bail.shtml
xxxiv KeySpot, https://www.phillykeyspots.org/
xxxv 311 System, http://www.phila.gov/311/
xxxvi Email Correspondence: Joseph Santomero, Office of Innovation and Technology (2/10/14)
xxxvii Ibid.
xxxviii Focus Group (1/13/14), Focus Group (2/7/14), Focus Group (2/11/14)
xxxix Email Correspondence: Kim Nieves, AOPC (2/14/14)
xl Ibid.
xli Email Correspondence: Art Heinz, AOPC (2/6/14)
xlii Email Correspondence: Kim Nieves, AOPC (2/14/14)
xliii Email Correspondence: Julie Wertheimer, Office of the Director of Public Safety (2/20/14)
xliv Phone and Email Correspondence: Kim Nieves, AOPC (1/24/14), (2/14/14)
xlv Ibid.
xlvi Ibid.
xlvii Email Correspondence: Art Heinz, AOPC (2/6/14)
xlviii Phone Correspondence with Chester, Westmoreland, Erie, and Delaware Counties (1/14)
xlix Ibid.
l The Mayor’s Fund for Philadelphia, http://www.mayorsfundphila.org/
li Email Correspondence: Julie Wertheimer, Office of the Director of Public Safety (2/24/14)
i