By: Erin King, Customer Success Manager
The Background
While the functions, strategies, and practices of pretrial and probation agencies might seem similar, it is crucial to keep them separate. This separation is recognized as a best practice as outlined in the National Institute of Corrections document A Framework for Pretrial Justice: Essential Elements of an Effective Pretrial System and Agency.
Historically, pretrial services were frequently an add-on to courts, jails, or probation departments. Combining pretrial services with other justice institutions overlooks the fundamental differences in approaches and philosophies between pretrial and other entities. In probation agencies, the finding of guilt is irrefutable and changes the rights and requirements of the client, such as drug testing, prohibition of alcohol use, and participation in treatment programs. The focus of post-conviction supervision is on the dual imperatives of accountability and rehabilitation.
The underlying philosophy and focus of pretrial is the presumption of innocence and the protection of defendant rights during the pretrial process. Pretrial principles seek to balance the safety of the public and ensure the defendant returns to court. Keeping agencies separate helps avoid conflicts of interest and ensures that defendants receive fair and impartial treatment during the process. When pretrial agencies are combined with probation agencies, it can create a perception of bias, shifting focus from liberty as the norm, to post-conviction supervision. This shift could result in lower release rates and ultimately undermine the credibility of pretrial release decisions.
The Benefits
Separation affords pretrial service agencies and their staff the opportunity to focus on effective pretrial processes. Proper training on how to conduct a pretrial risk specific assessment, perspectives that support the presumption of innocence, and the ability to make informed recommendations to the court are a few pretrial specific practices.
The Northpointe Suite’s Pretrial module can track all the phases of pretrial, from arrest through disposition. Dashboards and pre-defined reports that track appearance, safety, and concurrence rates ensure agencies can collect the data they need to make informed decisions. Additionally, functionality includes automated reminders, pretrial risk assessment instruments with configurable release matrices, customizable need assessments, storage of criminal history, robust note capabilities, tracking of court conditions, and more.
It is essential to keep pretrial agencies separate from probation agencies. Doing so ensures that defendants experience a fair and impartial pretrial process, avoids philosophical conflicts of interest, and allows for agency-specialized training and expertise development. By using the Northpointe Suite Pretrial module and maintaining this separation, we can continue to strive for a criminal justice system that is fair, efficient, and effective. Let us know how we can help your agency reach that potential today.
