NCJ Number
43939
Date Published
1977
Length
35 pages
Annotation
THE POINT SCALE USED BY PRETRIAL RELEASE AGENCIES TO DETERMINE IF A DEFENDANT SHOULD BE RECOMMENDED FOR RELEASE ON RECOGNIZANCE IS EXAMINED; VARIOUS STUDIES OF THE POINT SCALE IN SPECIFIC JURISDICTIONS ARE REVIEWED.
Abstract
THE POINT SCALE IS GENERALLY BASED ON A SERIES OF BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS WHICH MEASURE COMMUNITY TIES, PLUS CRIMINAL JUSTICE CHARACTERISTICS, SUCH AS PRIOR RECORD. IT WAS FOUND THAT THE ORIGINAL POINT SCALE DEVELOPED BY THE VERA FOUNDATION HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED VERBATIM FROM NEW YORK CITY TO MANY OTHER JURISDICTIONS. UNTIL RECENTLY FEW ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO DETERMINE IF THE PARTICULAR ITEMS ON THE SCALE WERE RELATED TO PERFORMANCE MEASURES OF THE DEFENDANTS. RESEARCH EXAMINED FOR THIS REPORT SEEMS TO INDICATE THAT CRIMINAL JUSTICE CHARACTERISTICS ARE MORE RELEVANT THAN COMMUNITY TIES TO COURT APPEARANCE RATES. THE FIRST PART OF THIS REPORT EXAMINES VARIOUS TYPES OF POINT SCALES AND PROVIDES GUIDELINES FOR ADMINISTRATORS ON POLICY QUESTIONS WHICH ARISE UNDER SUCH A SYSTEM. THE SECOND PART IS A MANUAL FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF A POINT SCALE. IT DISCUSSES BOTH SIMPLE AND COMPLEX POINT SYSTEMS, ITEMS WHICH SHOULD OR SHOULD NOT BE INCLUDED, AND RECOMMENDS THAT THE VERA FOUNDATION SCALE NOT BE IMPLEMENTED VERBATIM, BUT THAT A POINT SCALE BE DEVELOPED FROM A STUDY OF LOCAL DEFENDANT CHARACTERISTICS. THE ORIGINAL VERA POINT SCALE, A COMPARISON OF PRETRIAL RELEASE POINT SYSTEMS, AND POINT SCALES FROM WESTCHESTER, NEW YORK; WASHINGTON, D.C.; DADE COUNTY, FLA.; CINCINNATI, OHIO; LOS ANGELES, CALIF.; STATE OF KENTUCKY; AND DES MOINES, IOWA ARE APPENDED. TABLES USED IN AN EVALUATION OF THE NEW YORK CITY POINT SCALE ARE ALSO INCLUDED.