NCJ Number
204073
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 67 Issue: 3 Dated: December 2003 Pages: 33-41
Date Published
December 2003
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study describes various patterns of change over time (from 1986 to 2000) in the Pretrial Services Program in Lake County, IL, and some lessons are drawn from the findings.
Abstract
For this time period, the authors describe workload trends, pretrial-bond-supervision (PTBS) evaluations and PTBS recommendations, the distribution of PTBS clients by crime class and crime type, domestic violence and DUI (driving under the influence) cases, the upward trend in drug/alcohol testing and curfew restrictions, violation trends, success on supervision, and violation rates by class of crime and type of offense. The authors sum up the 17-year study period of pretrial services as one of change, adaptation, and growth. There was a nearly 1,000-percent increase in the number of defendants supervised by Pretrial Services. The number of defendants recommended for PTBS relative to the total number evaluated substantially decreased over time from 70 percent to 20 percent. The aggregate success and failure rates of evaluated and non-evaluated defendants were identical. Failing to appear represented the primary violation problem, both in terms of volume and rates. Based on this research, the authors conclude that the specific functions that pretrial services provide to the Lake County judiciary and to the community will continue and probably expand in the 21st century as unmet needs are identified and pretrial release options and supervision strategies become more progressive and relevant in meeting the demands in Lake County. This study also demonstrates the practical value of localized, in-house research based on the ongoing collection of data on selected variables and data analysis that can provide a statistical profile of the operations and demands of pretrial services over time. 11 notes, 8 figures, and 2 tables