NCJ Number
155071
Date Published
1991
Length
192 pages
Annotation
Based on a national survey conducted in 1989, this report documents the nature and extent of pretrial services offered at the local, State, and Federal levels.
Abstract
The monograph seeks to document current program practices and procedures, to highlight the types of changes that have occurred in the provision of pretrial services over the past decade, and to discuss issues that will continue to face pretrial program administrators and policy planners in the future. Following an introductory chapter, the monograph provides a descriptive profile of the 201 local and State pretrial programs and 64 Federal programs. A separate chapter discusses specific pretrial practices and policies as they correspond to procedures used before and during defendants' initial court hearings. The report addresses procedures used following initial court appearances to monitor defendants and assist them in making their court appearances, and examines program management and data collection procedures. Pretrial practices and issues that should be reexamined in the next decade include automatic interview and personal recognizance exclusions, background information and release eligibility determination, defendant screening mechanisms, financial conditions of release, notification procedures, failure-to-appear and rearrest rates, evaluation efforts, delivery of pretrial services, appropriate role of pretrial programs vis-a-vis prison overcrowding, and continued need for research and demonstration projects. 68 tables and 3 appendixes