Who We Are
Volunteers.
Investors.
Advocates.
Partners.
The Lancaster Bail Fund (LBF) is a catalyst for social justice in the fight against pretrial and mass incarceration.
In 2021, LBF was established as an option for people who would otherwise be jailed because of an inability to pay the often-arbitrary price of their pretrial freedom. We are a volunteer-run nonprofit corporation based in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
To see what we accomplished in our first fiscal year, check out our Impact Report!
We are a revolving fund – meaning the same money can be used over and over. Our leaders and volunteers advocate for an end to the cash bail and pretrial detention system in Lancaster.
LBF is a member of the National Bail Fund Network, a partner in the Lancaster County Reentry Coalition and is a fiscally sponsored project of Alliance for Global Justice, a 501(c)(3).
Freedom Should be Free.
In America, we believe innocent until proven guilty, but when you cage someone against a dollar amount they can’t pay, you are treating them as though they’ve already been convicted.
Who We Serve
We provide direct service to people who are behind bars at the Lancaster County Prison because they cannot pay their bail. Kidnapped and thrown in jail against a dollar amount they cannot afford, people in this situation experience disrupted medical care, loss of jobs, housing, personal property, and even custody of their children. At worst, pretrial incarceration is a death sentence.
Facing the predicament of indefinite pretrial incarceration, these same community members are often forced to choose between asserting a defense and pleading guilty to expedite their release. LBF levels the playing field through our direct bail service, giving people a fighting chance in court and in their lives.
We also serve our broader community. Pretrial incarceration is linked with increased recidivism. Locking people up does not make us safer.
Mission
The Lancaster Bail Fund works to fill a critical gap through the establishment of a revolving fund used to post cash bail for individuals held in pretrial detention at the Lancaster County Prison in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who would otherwise remain incarcerated due to an inability to pay.
We also advocate for policies and practices that would decrease the inequitable incidence of pretrial incarceration for socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals and work towards the creation of a more just and humane pretrial system here in Lancaster.
Vision
We believe that cash bail is harmful, unjust, and unnecessary and perpetuates the inequities inherent in our criminal system. Our work is centered on the experiences of individuals directly impacted by pretrial detention, their families, and communities, and we specifically seek to uplift those who have been the most historically disadvantaged by our current practices.
We are working towards a future where pretrial freedom is the norm. Where families remain unified and housed, where lost wages and predatory bail bond businesses do not contribute to the economic precarity of our communities and where all criminally accused individuals are treated with respect and dignity and are afforded due process, autonomy, safety, fairness, and a fighting chance in court.
We hope the Lancaster Bail Fund will serve not only as a stop-gap measure but also as a catalyst for collective action, moving us towards a society defined by transformative and restorative justice where bail funds are not necessary.