The Bail Post
What do we know about criminal justice reforms or bail reform? How do we evaluate whether reforms are helping or making the situation worse? How can we take politics out of criminal justice and focus on public safety? The Bail Post seeks to be a place where legislators and the public can educate themselves on a host of criminal justice/bail reform issues. With various attempts at criminal justice reform from New York to Texas to California, many people are confused as to what is working and what is not. With the passage of time, more and more data is coming to light over what successful reform looks like and what reforms have been found to not be working. The rise in violent crime across the country has been startling and law makers and the public alike are desperate to find legislation that is effective. Some might ask whether some of the reforms making the situation worse? The Bail Post is an on-going discussion that seeks to cut to the core to provide education on the various issues raised and to highlight what successful criminal justice reform looks like and what measures have been disastrous. Join us and educate yourself about the best practices that jurisdictions must implement to keep their communities safe, while ensuring fairness to defendants. As a someone said recently "Public safety is the foundation of a society. Without public safety we do not have a society."
If you would like to listen other episodes of The Bail Post you can find a subject matter index of the different episodes at- https://pbtx.blogspot.com/p/subject-index-to-bail-post-podcasts.html.
The host is Ken W. Good; an attorney in Tyler, Texas who has been licensed for over 30 years. He has argued cases before the Supreme Court of Texas and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Mr. Good has written a book on bail called "Goods On Bail." He has also has had numerous papers published on Criminal Justice Reform issues. Mr. Good is a board member of PBT and serves on the legislative committee. Mr. Good is married and has two daughters.
The Bail Post
Episode No. 46- What If The Narrative of Systemic Racism is All Wrong with Guest David Zimmer
David Zimmer is a Policy Fellow at Center of the American Experiment, where he writes about criminal justice and public safety.
Mr. Zimmer served 33 years in local law enforcement with the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, retiring as a Captain. During his law enforcement career, Mr. Zimmer served as a deputy and a supervisor in areas including the Jail, Courts, Patrol/Water Patrol, Investigations, and Tactical Command. Mr. Zimmer was recognized as a collaborative law enforcement leader who earned the respect of stakeholders throughout the criminal justice system. He advocates for public policy that will ensure a consequential criminal justice system for all Minnesotans.
In 2021, Minnesota began tracking the race of individuals accused of crimes. This data allowed Mr. Zimmer to produce a report called "Dispelling the Myth of Unwarranted Racial Disparities in Minnesota's Criminal Justice System." The conclusions of the report raise questions about whether proponents for reforms that gut accountability are doing the opposite of their intent by causing more harm to the very communities that the proponents claim to be seeking to help.
To view the report CLICK HERE.