ACLU Launches Data Analysis Tool For St. Louis County Jails

ST. LOUIS, MO — The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri has created a new interactive tool to allow users to explore statistics surrounding St. Louis County's use of cash bail and how long people have stayed in jail while awaiting trial.

"Using cash bail impacts people unequally based on wealth and race," the group said in a news release. "People of color are already over-policed and arrested more than their white counterparts. The continuing operation of this system of wealth-based incarceration intensifies this discrimination in the criminal justice system."

The ACLU's new tool is powered by data obtained from St. Louis County through open records requests and reflects criminal bookings between 2010 and 2017.

“We launched this tool to make sure the people of St. Louis County know what’s happening in their jail before they vote for a prosecuting attorney candidate in August,” said ACLU of Missouri executive director Jeffrey Mittman. “Voters deserve to know that their elected prosecuting attorney has not ended cash bail or effectively used the alternative drug court system. We strongly encourage both candidates to end the system of cash bail, which punishes those who can’t afford to buy their freedom and lets rich people walk free.”

Among the group's findings:

• In 2017, 419 of people faced cash bail for misdemeanors, including 65 people receiving received cash bail for speeding offenses.
• Since 2012, 2,775 people faced cash bail for misdemeanors. The average amount was $445.
• From 2012-2017, 5,536 people faced pre-trial detention of one to five days for a misdemeanor; 683 people spent more than 20 days in jail with a misdemeanor charge pre-trial over the same time period.
• In 2017, 899 people sat behind bars for one to five days after being charged with a misdemeanor.

Earlier this month, the ACLU launched a voter education effort focused on the August primary election for St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney. That office is currently held by Democrat Robert McCulloch, who came to national attention in 2014 when he declined to charge former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson with murder after he fatally shot Michael Brown, a black teenager.

McCulloch drew criticism for his handling of the case, including from the NAACP and prominent black lawmakers.

McCulloch has instituted an alternative drug court program, but since 2014, only 99 people have been enrolled and only 36 people have completed the program, according to a separate open records request filed by the ACLU.

"Prosecutors are the most influential actors in the criminal justice system," the group said in a statement. "Their decisions are a major driver of mass incarceration and racial disparities in our criminal justice system."

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