Controversial 'purge' law in US state is now in effect

A law that has been compared to action horror film series The Purge has come into effect across the US state of Illinois today.

Here's the trailer for the first movie, if you want to see where the unfavourable comparison comes from:

The law has been nicknamed the ‘purge law’ after the 2013 film in which all crime becomes legal for one day, leading to absolute chaos.

Of course, the law that has been passed earlier this year isn’t suggesting anything as wild as that, but critics have suggested that it could create something a bit similar.

That’s because the law – which aims to essentially remove cash bail for certain offences – means that police can’t go out hunting for those who violate terms of bail by 48 hours.

What’s more, the bill allows judges to make the call on whether someone who is accused of a crime represents a risk of either committing an offence or disappearing before their court date.

Illinois is the first US state to pass such a law.

valentyn semenov/Alamy Stock Photo

It’s called the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today bill, and it just came into effect with the change of the year.

So, according to the legislation: "Detention only shall be imposed when it is determined that the defendant poses a specific, real and present threat to a person, or has a high likelihood of wilful flight."

The law means that 12 non-detainable offences will no longer require a paid cash bail, and they are all very serious offences.

They are:

· Second-degree murder

· Aggravated battery

· Arson

· Drug-induced homicide

· Kidnapping

· Burglary

· Robbery

· Intimidation

· Aggravated fleeing and eluding

· Aggravated driving under the influence

· Drug offences

· Threatening a public official

The SAFE-T bill means that those who have been accused of these crimes can be considered for release, should a judge deem them to be low-risk.

The new legislation also limits who can be arrested and kept in custody depending on which crime they are alleged to have committed.

Universal Pictures

Obviously, there has been criticism of this law from law-enforcement and some politicians, with attorney Robert Berlin stating: "I’m very concerned about an increase in violent crime. But again I do want to stress there is still time to fix it,

"And the state’s attorneys are working very hard as we have been for the last year and a half to fix this law.

"It is very fixable, where we can still eliminate cash bail but make sure the right people are in custody and everybody else who’s not a danger gets out."

According to the Center for American Progress, three out of every five people who are in prison awaiting trial haven’t committed the crime they are accused of.

That’s about 500,000 people, and the removal of cash bail could lessen that number.

But, others believe that it will just see dangerous criminals released onto the streets, drawing comparisons with the five-strong Purge film series.