Pretrial supervised release programs
Program overview
An alternative to cash bail: Pretrial supervised release programs allow judges to release individuals facing criminal charges to the community until their charges are adjudicated. Such programs aim to ensure court appearance and maintain public safety while reducing the use of cash bail and pretrial detention.
Varied processes across jurisdictions: States and local governments can establish pretrial supervised release as a legal alternative to bail. Intake processes, eligibility rules, and processes for determining release conditions vary across jurisdictions. However, standardized risk assessments are commonly used to inform determinations over whether supervised release is appropriate for a defendant. Typically, the final determination is made by a judge or magistrate, though in some cases (e.g., the defendant is considered very low risk), pretrial supervised release may be granted automatically.
Monitoring defendants during release: Defendants who are released are supervised by a city or county criminal justice agency or community-based nonprofit organization. Case managers conduct regular in-person or phone check-ins with defendants, with the frequency based on the defendant’s assessed risk level. As part of check-ins, case managers assess and report back to the court on defendents’ compliance with pretrial supervised release requirements. Case managers may provide reminders of upcoming court dates.
Connecting defendants to social services: In some programs, case managers may offer defendants a more robust set of support services. Typically, this would involve a needs assessment, followed by referrals to social services as needed (e.g., drug treatment, counseling, education, workforce development).
Multiple studies with less rigorous designs provide some evidence for pretrial supervised release as a strategy to reduce the use of pretrial detention and money bail.
A 2020 quasi-experimental study found that pretrial supervised release reduced the use of money bail by 45 percentage points and pretrial detention by 34 percentage points. The use of pretrial supervised release did not lead to an increase in missed court appearances or arrests for new crimes in the nine months following defendants’ arrests.
A 2020 research synthesis found that pretrial supervised release programs improve court appearance rates by between 2 and 24 percent.
Incorporate stakeholder engagement into program development: In order to effectively introduce a pretrial supervised release program into a court system, jurisdictions should meaningfully incorporate stakeholders in the development process. One approach is to establish a steering committee. This committee can set parameters for defendant eligibility, select community-based organization partners, plan for case management staffing, and determine a communication and roll-out plan for stakeholders. This committee should include judges, leaders from the District Attorney and Public Defender’s Offices, court administrators, community representatives, and others.
Provide training and earn buy-in from judges: Judges play a crucial role in the pretrial supervised release program since they have the power to grant pretrial supervised release to defendants rather than bail or detention. Consequently, implementing jurisdictions should work closely with judges to train them on the eligibility criteria for pretrial supervised release participation. Additionally, in order to earn judges’ trust in the program, jurisdictions should communicate clearly about the existing evidence surrounding the negative effects of cash bail, including notable racial disparities.
Utilize risk-based decision making: Judges participating in jurisdictions with pretrial supervised release programs should use standardized risk-based decision-making strategies to maintain public safety, ensure consistency across judges, and reduce the likelihood of racial disparities. This includes establishing a decision structure, using a uniform risk assessment, and incorporating risk-based information into decision-making. That said, standardized risk assessment tools may be prone to racial bias, so monitoring outcomes through impact assessments can help programs identify any disparities.
Pair with court date notification systems: In order to encourage defendants to appear for their scheduled court dates, pretrial supervised release programs should also utilize court date notification systems such as text message or post card reminders. Reminders should be sent on a repeated basis leading up to the court date, explain the consequences of failing to appear, and encourage defendants to make a plan that allows them to appear in court. For more information on the research behind court date reminders, see this research synthesis.