Pima County will provide bail money for some defendants under new program

Lower-level criminal defendants who can’t afford their bonds can soon get out of jail without having to pay any money to await trial under a new Pima County program that could save taxpayers millions of dollars, officials said.

In a move being described as the first of its kind, the Board of Supervisors has given the go-ahead for the county to fund its own bail-bonding operation through a local nonprofit.

To be eligible, prisoners must have bond set at $30,000 or less and the charges against them cannot be for homicide, sex crimes or child exploitation. Typically a prisoner now would pay a professional bail bond company about $3,000 to secure his or her release on a $30,000 bond.