| dc.description.abstract |
Pretrial services programs serve two main purposes
within the criminal justice field. First, they
conduct investigations and evaluate defendants, for
the purpose of helping the court make more
informed pretrial decisions. Second, they provide s
upervision to defendants who are released
pending trial, providing support services to releas
ed defendants and assuring the court and the
community that defendants are complying with their
release conditions. These programs work
within a variety of settings. Often they are housed
in the judiciary, in probation departments, in
the local jail or sheriff’s office, or in independe
nt or nonprofit organizations. They perform their
functions in an independent and impartial manner, u
pholding the presumption of innocence and
the right to bail that is not excessive. The right
to bail that is not excessive includes the right to
have release conditions that are no more restrictiv
e than necessary to serve the purposes of bail. |
