Pretrial Detention Can Lead to Missed Work and Job Losses

Harvard University research published in 2022 shows that being held in pretrial detention can lead to time off work and the knock-on effect of job losses. Out of 191 adults who were cited or arrested for low-level misdemeanors in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2013-2018, 20 percent missed work when they were in pretrial detention for less than one day. This rose to 43 percent when they were in for one to three days and 62 percent for those in pretrial detention for four days to one week. Where seven percent of respondents said they lost their jobs after being in pretrial detention for one to three days, that jumped to 30 percent who lost their jobs after being in pretrial detention for four to seven days.