Some things never change … and some change a lot. In our 30-plus years as criminal justice practitioners turned strategic technology partners, one element of the justice system that has gone through an incredible amount of transformation is pretrial.

Agencies around the country are being tasked with completely overhauling their pretrial program or creating a new one from scratch, and in both cases, we hear: Where do I start?

Start here. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite go-to resources for pretrial, no matter where you’re located or how far along you are in your pretrial reboot:

1. National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies (NAPSA). Our favorite part about NAPSA’s offering is the ability to connect with other pretrial services agencies and workers. NAPSA is a strong voice in pretrial, and they’re committed to helping agencies like yours best serve your community. Some of their publications include:

• • Standards on Pretrial Release 2020
  • Diversion 101 Series
  • Using Front End Interventions to Achieve Public Safety and Healthy Communities

2. National Institute of Corrections (NIC). Here, you’ll find an absolute wealth of resources. The top three NIC publications we recommend to our customers for pretrial are:

• • A Framework for Pretrial Justice: Essential Elements of an Effective Pretrial System and Agency
  • Pretrial Release and Probation: What is the Same and What is Different?
  • Pretrial Justice: How to Maximize Public Safety, Court Appearance, and Release

3. Pretrial Justice Institute (PJI). These folks know their stuff, and they’ll share all of it. We frequently refer back to their National Polling Report because it provides solid insight into how citizens feel about pretrial. PJI also offers webinars, other publications, and more to assist you, no matter where you are in the pretrial process.

4. Advancing Pretrial Policy & Research (APPR). While their focus includes the Public Safety Assessment (PSA), their documentation and recommendations on collaboration and implementation are outstanding regardless of which pretrial assessment (if any) your agency uses. We found their recent research summaries regarding drug testing, location monitoring, pretrial detention, and more easy to digest and valuable to agencies exploring all the working parts of pretrial.

Start here, and when you need more support, need advice from people who have been in your shoes, or need technology to make your new processes work for you, give us a call. We’re here to help.