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Impact

The evaluation team claimed that the EM bail project had a positive

impact for the accused, the public, the economy, and the wider society.
Having more courts participating in the project meant more accused and their

families benefited from the use of EM. EM allowed the accused to remain

with their family and continue working to support their families.

The report also speculated on why the EM bail project might have

a positive impact for Thailandûs economy. Firstly, the report asserted that

placing 6,267 accused on EM bail is somewhat less costly than keeping them
in detentionfiwhich is true, if somewhat misleading, as at least some of these

individuals would have posted money bail. According to the statistics from

the Department of Corrections, the savings was far less than an equivalent
program would save in the U.S.; the cost of incarcerating 6,300 individuals in

Thai facilities would be around fl133 million while the total cost of the EM

bail project came to about fl110 million, a savings of only fl23 million

(although the cost of the EM bail pilot includes initial start-up costs including

equipment, onetime, non-recurring expenses that would be recovered over the
life of the program and eventually achieving substantial cost savings).

Secondly, placing the accused on EM meant arrestees could continue working,

earning and circulating money in the economy. Data from the Thai Office of
the National Economic and Social Board was cited by the evaluation team that

in 2017 each Thai generated an average of fl228,412 in economic activity, and

that 6,300 accused, who would otherwise be detained, could contribute about

fl1,431,458,004 to Thailandûs economy. Applying the average national income

to arrestees almost certainly overstates the potential economic gain (or loss)
from freeing offenders to work while awaiting trial, especially as figures

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