President Donald Trump is targeting cashless bail in a pair of executive orders issued on Monday.

       One of the orders is aimed at ending the practice of cashless bail nationwide. It directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to make a list of states and local jurisdictions that she finds to have "substantially eliminated cash bail as a potential condition of pretrial release from custody for crimes that pose a clear threat to public safety and order, including offenses involving violent, sexual, or indecent acts, or burglary, looting, or vandalism." Federal grants and contracts could then be withheld or revoked in those jurisdictions, according to the order.

       Trump also signed an order on cashless bail specific to Washington, D.C., where the president has declared a "crime emergency," aiming to hold many criminal defendants in federal custody. The order seeks to hold arrestees in federal custody "to the fullest extent permissible under applicable law" and to seek federal charges and pretrial detention "whenever possible, consistent with applicable law, to ensure that criminal defendants who pose a threat to public safety are not released from custody prior to trial."

       Cashless bail has been a frequent target of the president's attacks amid his crime crackdown. Here's what to know about the policy.

       Cash bail is typically a set amount granted following an arrest that is used to guarantee that a defendant will return to court for hearings or trial. A judge may decide to raise or lower the standard bail, waive it and release the defendant on their own recognizance, or deny bail altogether, based on the offense and factors such as the defendant's flight risk and whether they pose a danger to the community.

       If someone can't afford their set bail, they may use a private bail bond company that posts the bond for them, usually for a fee or premium, or otherwise stay in jail while awaiting trial or hearings.

       Cashless bail is a type of bail reform measure that criminal justice reform advocates argue can address inequities in the criminal justice system by ensuring people are not held in jail just because they are unable to afford their bail.

       Proponents of eliminating cash bail argue that a money bail system disproportionately affects poor people and people of color, while opponents of bail reform claim it risks public safety and could increase crime and recidivism.

       Under a cashless bail system, the use of money bail for certain low-level, non-violent misdemeanors and felonies may be eliminated, often with a judge deciding whether pretrial detention is warranted. The exact offenses and policies may vary by jurisdiction.

       Illinois became the first state to completely eliminate cash bail after the state Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the provision in 2023. Under the policy, a judge decides if a defendant is eligible for pretrial release, based on factors such as flight risk and public safety.

       Other states, including New York, New Jersey and New Mexico, have nearly entirely eliminated cash bail or limited its use.

       D.C., which is a specific target of Trump's new executive orders, was a pioneer of cashless bail. The district eliminated a money bail system in 1992 in favor of a judge using risk assessment tools to determine whether someone is a threat to public safety or a flight risk.

       Bail reform measures may also vary at the county level; for instance, in Texas' Harris County, a 2019 court decree eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanor cases.

       Trump has argued that cashless bail leads to more crime and repeat offenses.

       "Cashless bail is a disaster," he said during remarks in the Oval Office on Monday. "It's been a horrible thing for crime, especially violent crime."

       In a fact sheet on the new order aimed at ending cashless bail nationwide, the White House cited several cases of violent offenders and homicide suspects being set free. It also referred to a 2023 study from the Yolo County District Attorney's Office in California that found the state's "zero bail" policy during the COVID-19 pandemic "resulted in 163% more crime and 200% more violent crime compared to those who posted bail" in Yolo County.

       The state's emergency policy, aimed at reducing COVID-19 spread in California jails, set bail at zero dollars for most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. Though the district attorney's study notes that individuals on emergency zero bail were "released without any conditions and without any type of risk assessment being conducted."

       The Public Policy Institute of California's analysis of the state's zero bail policy found "some short-term risks to implementing a blanket policy on pretrial detention," and that pretrial risk assessments "could be a promising approach, as understanding the full range of individuals’ previously committed offenses and their severity may be useful in determining whether they should be detained in jail or released to the community during the pretrial period."

       A 2024 study from the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan law and policy organization, compared crime rates in 22 cities that had some form of bail reform with 11 cities that did not and found "no statistically significant relationship between bail reform and crime rates."

       After one year of Illinois' Pretrial Fairness Act, which in part eliminated cash bail, a study from Loyola University of Chicago’s Center for Criminal Justice noted that while it was too early for any definitive findings, crime in Illinois did not go up following the act's implementation.