Decreased Bi-Partisan Support for Pretrial Detention in Less Serious Cases: Evidence From an Experimental Survey

Abstract

Despite recent reforms limiting or eliminating cash bail for less serious crimes, we know little about public support for pretrial detention. To help fill this gap, we embedded offense severity experimental manipulations within a national survey administered to 1,368 Americans. While liberals are significantly less likely than conservatives to support pretrial detention in the abstract, these ideological differences largely disappear once offense severity is considered. Support for pretrial detention is significantly lower for misdemeanors versus felonies, non-violent versus violent crimes, and less versus more serious crimes (shoplifting/drug possession vs. robbery/homicide). These offense severity effects hold for respondents across the political spectrum, revealing broad bifurcated support for pretrial detention across more serious versus less serious crimes that align with recent bail reforms targeting less serious crimes. The convergence of decreased support for pretrial detention in less serious cases among conservatives and liberals offers a unique opportunity for bi-partisan bail reform.

Keywords

detention public opinion political ideology offense severity

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