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Article snippet: Local law enforcement leaders are backing a bipartisan proposal to reform the nations’ criminal bail system. Members of a group called Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration sent a letter with 31 signatures to Sens. MORE (R-Ky.) in support of the Pretrial Integrity and Safety Act of 2017, which the senators introduced in July. Harris and Paul claim the current system arbitrarily penalizes poor arrestees who can't afford bail. Members of the group, which include current and former law enforcement officials, said they know from experience that conditioning freedom on someone’s ability to pay for it does not enhance public safety. “Under money bail systems, nearly half of violent offenders buy their way into unsupervised release,” said the letter, which included signatures from Kami Chavis, former assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, and Andrew Peralta, president of the National Latino Peace Officers Association. “Too often, those who cannot afford bail are people who were arrested for nonviolent offenses. Thus, we spend taxpayer dollars to keep them behind bars while dangerous individuals quickly return to our streets.” The group, led by former New Orleans police superintendent Ronal Serpas, claims there are about 450,000 jail inmates awaiting trial at any given moment, costing taxpayers approximately $38 million per day and $14 billion annually. Law Enforcement Leaders were vocal advocates during the last Congressional sessio... Link to the full article to read more