Pretrial Justice in America: A Survey of County Pretrial Release Policies, Practices and Outcomes

Abstract

As the nation approaches the 50th anniversary of the Bail Reform Movement this report looks at the policies and practices that are in place in jurisdictions around the country that define the pretrial release decision making process, and the outcomes that have resulted. This report focuses on bail setting policies, practices, and outcomes in the nation’s most populous counties… The first section of this report highlights the results of the survey of pretrial release decision making policies and practices. The second section highlights the variation found among the counties when disaggregating the SCPS data set. The final section discusses the implications for future examinations, training opportunities, and data collection.