Pretrial Justice Curricula Revision and Development

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Background: Nationally, about 65% of jails are filled with pretrial defendants charged but not convicted of a crime. Many of these pretrial detainees, if released, have a high probability to appear for all of their scheduled court hearings, and have a low probability of being re-arrested during the pretrial phase of their case. Conversely, our current system allows defendants who have a high probability of flight and being re-arrested to be released from custody, compromising public safety and confidence of the criminal justice system. The National Institute of Corrections recognizes the necessity for state and local criminal justice systems to develop pretrial justice systems and agencies which have established structures to make consistent pretrial release and detention decisions, that are based in legal and evidence based pretrial practices. The pretrial release or detention decision is critical and is known to have an effect on future criminal justice decisions and outcomes of the defendant. Because of the potential impact of this decision on criminal justices outcomes, NIC has made significant investments to develop sound and fundamental information and tools which will support fair, just, and consistent pretrial release and detention decisions that increase public safety and court appearance during the pretrial phase of the case. NIC’s strategy to meet our mission and these goals are to provide a series of responsive trainings, individualized on-site pretrial system and agency assessment, and publications. Individually and collectively these interventions are intended to build the capacity of pretrial decision makers to make legal and evidence based decisions supported by an effective pretrial justice system and agency practices, which have the overarching goal of maximizing public safety, maximizing court appearance and maximizing release

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