Is Pretrial Detention an Effective Deterrent? An Analysis of Failure to Appear and Rearrest Says "No"

An increasing body of literature has connected pretrial detention with negative outcomes for defendants. If indeed “some” pretrial detention is related to negative outcomes, “more” time spent in jail pretrial should lead to worse outcomes, specifically, the likelihood of “failure to appear” (FTA) and “new criminal activity” (NCA). The current research puts this idea to the test.