Ariel White

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Website

Ariel White is the Silverman Family Career Development Associate Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She holds a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University.

Voting History

Pretrial detention

Reducing the number of people detained pretrial will lead to a net increase in crime in the medium- to long-term.

Vote Confidence
Disagree 8
Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Disagree 7
Comments

Ending the use of cash bail will meaningfully reduce the number of people detained pretrial.

Vote Confidence
Agree 4
Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree 7
Comments

I'm interpreting this question as being about a New Jersey- or Illinois-style legislative change to the bail system, not simply changes in local prosecutorial policies for requesting bail.

Using risk assessment to inform detention decisions will meaningfully reduce the number of people detained pretrial.

Vote Confidence
Neutral/No Opinion 5
Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Neutral/No Opinion 5
Comments

There is simulation work that suggests risk assessment tools could theoretically reduce the number of people detained pretrial, but that doesn't mean that as actually implemented they will do so. See Stevenson 2018, for example, on Kentucky's use of these tools.