Study from Riley, Adhia and Colleagues Examines Link Between Cash Bail Reform and Intimate Partner Violence

Posted: 1/24/2025 ()

Skeptics of cash bail reforms have cited a potential risk for community violence, particularly violence against women. A new study from former CSDE Alum Taylor Riley (Carolina Population Center) and Affiliate Avanti Adhia (UW School of Nursing) examines this relationship and finds no evidence that New Jersey’s cash bail reform increased rates of fatal violence against women. Researchers analyzed data from 2015–2019, comparing New Jersey to 21 states without bail reform, and found no significant changes in intimate partner violence-related homicides, pregnancy-associated homicides, or overall homicides of adult women. The findings suggest policies reducing pretrial incarceration can address mass incarceration without exacerbating fatal intimate partner violence. Read the full study here.