NCJ Number
234066
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 74 Issue: 3 Dated: December 2010 Pages: 11-15
Date Published
December 2010
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article presents the results of a case study on alternatives to pretrial detention for Federal offenders in the Southern District of Iowa.
Abstract
The case study found that by utilizing alternatives to detention, the Southern District of Iowa: successfully increased pretrial services interviews, which allowed for a 10-percent increase in pretrial services reports completed; saw a 16-percent increase in the identification of defendants appropriate for release with alternatives to detention; and had an increase of 15 percent in the pretrial release rate, leading to reductions in failure to appear, danger to the community, and technical violations. This article examines the results of a project implemented in the Southern District of Iowa with the goal of increasing the use of alternatives to detention when appropriate to increase pretrial release rates while assuring court appearance and community safety. Four primary strategies were used to increase pretrial release rates: allocate human and financial resources; utilize a customer service approach; provide training and increase consistency of services, and develop an identity for pretrial services. The study results indicate that the project was successful in its goal of utilizing alternatives to detention when appropriate to increase pretrial release rates while assuring court appearance and community safety. Figures