PRETRIAL SERVICES OFFICERS

Did you know?

TIn the 94 federal judicial districts nationwide, U.S. pretrial services

officers play an integral role in the administration of justice.

TU.S. pretrial services officers balance the defendant’s right to pretrial

release with the court’s concern that the defendant appear in court as

required and not endanger the public.

TU.S. pretrial services officers provide to the court two important

services: investigation and supervision.

U.S. pretrial services officers are situated at a crucial place in

the federal criminal justice process–the very start. In fact,

officers often are the first court representatives defendants

encounter after their arrest. In general, officers’ mission is to

investigate defendants charged with a federal crime,

recommend in a report to the court whether to release or

detain the defendants, and supervise the defendants who are

released to the community while they await their day in court. 

At the core of the day-to-day work of officers is the hallowed

principle of criminal law that the defendant is presumed

innocent until proven guilty. Officers must balance this

presumption with the reality that some persons–if not detained

before their trial--are likely to flee or to threaten others. 

Defendants may pose danger to a person, such as a victim or

a witness, or to the community–that is, a threat that the

defendant may engage in criminal activity. The officer’s job is

to identify persons who are likely to fail to appear or be

arrested if released, to recommend restrictive conditions that

would reasonably assure the defendant’s appearance in court

and the safety of the community, and to recommend detention

when no such conditions exist. If the person does not pose

such risk, the officer’s mandate is to recommend to the court

the least restrictive conditions that will reasonably assure that

the person appears in court and poses no danger. 

Officers deliver services that benefit the court, the community,

and the defendant. Their responsibilities require them to work

not only with federal judges, magistrate judges, and other

court professionals, but with U.S. attorneys, defense

attorneys, state and local law enforcement agents, and

treatment providers. Their primary duties are briefly described

below.

1. The officer conducts a pretrial services

investigation, gathering and verifying important

information about the defendant and the defendant’s

suitability for pretrial release.

The pretrial services investigation–which forms the basis of

the officer’s report to the court–calls for the officer to

interview the defendant and to confirm the information the

defendant conveys through other sources. The investigation

begins when the officer is first informed that a defendant has

been arrested. The arresting or case agent calls the pretrial

services office and, ideally, provides information about the

defendant (such as the defendant’s name, date of birth, social

security number, the charges, the circumstances surrounding

the arrest, and where the defendant can be interviewed). 

Before interviewing the defendant, the officer runs a criminal

history check and also, if possible, speaks to the assistant U.S.

attorney about the defendant, the charges, and the

government’s position as to whether to release or detain the

defendant. The purpose of the interview is to find out what the

defendant has been doing, where the defendant has been

living, and where the defendant has been working (or what the

defendant’s source of support is). 

What the officer learns from collateral sources–from other

persons, from documents, and from on-line research--may

verify what the defendant said, contradict it, or provide

something more. The officer’s research, for instance, may

include contacting the defendant’s family and associates to

confirm background information, employers to verify

employment, law enforcement agencies to obtain a criminal

history, financial institutions to obtain bank or credit card

statements, and the motor vehicle administration to check the

defendant’s license and registration. 

Conducting the investigation in time for the defendant’s initial

appearance in court can be quite a challenge. Sometimes the

officer must wait for the arresting agents to make the

defendant available or for the U.S. marshals to finish

processing the defendant. Sometimes the defense counsel is

interviewing the defendant or tells the defendant not to answer

the officer’s questions. Sometimes the officer must wait for an

interpreter or for an interview room. Sometimes verifying

information is hard because the defendant gives false

information or a false identity or because persons able to verify

information are not available. 

The interview may take place in the U.S. marshal’s holding cell,

the arresting law enforcement agency’s office, the local jail, or

the pretrial services office. During the interview, the officer

talks to the defendant in private if possible, remains objective

while interacting with the defendant, and explains that the

information will be used to decide whether the defendant will be

released or detained. The officer does not discuss the alleged

offense or the defendant’s guilt or innocence. The officer also

does not give legal advice to the defendant or recommend an

attorney.
2. The officer prepares a report that helps the court

make an informed release or detention decision.

In preparing the pretrial services report, the officer addresses

two basic questions: Is the defendant likely to come back to

court and stay out of trouble? If not, what conditions should

the court impose to increase the likelihood? The officer

considers both danger and nonappearance factors before

making a recommendation to the court to release or detain the

defendant. For example, the offense with which the

defendant is charged and the defendant’s substance abuse

history may present both danger and nonappearance

considerations. Factors such as prior arrests and convictions

or a history of violent behavior raise danger concerns. 

Factors such as the defendant’s immigration status and ties to

family and community may influence nonappearance. 

If no risk factors are evident, the officer recommends release

on personal recognizance. If risk factors exist, the officer

recommends either release with conditions or detention. 

Release conditions are tailored to the individual defendant, but

always include the universal condition that the defendant not

commit a federal, state, or local crime during the period of

release. The officer may recommend, and the court may set,

conditions to accomplish any number of goals, including

prohibiting possession of weapons, contact with victims, or

use of alcohol or drugs; restricting the defendant’s freedom

of movement or with whom the defendant associates; and

requiring the defendant to seek or maintain employment, obtain

education or training, or surrender a passport. If the

defendant is likely to fail to appear, the officer may recommend

a financial bond, which the defendant (or the defendant’s

family) forfeits if the defendant fails to appear in court as

directed.

3. The officer supervises offenders in the community

to make sure they comply with court-ordered

conditions of release.

Officers supervise defendants released to the community until

they begin to serve their sentence, the charges are dismissed,

or they are acquitted. Generally, officers’ supervision

responsibilities are to: 1) monitor defendants’ compliance with

their release conditions; 2) manage risk; 3) provide necessary

services as ordered by the court, such as drug treatment; and

4) inform the court and the U.S. attorney if the defendant

violates the conditions.

When the officer receives a case for supervision, the officer

reviews the information about the defendant, assessing any

potential risk the defendant presents and any supervision

issues that may affect the defendant’s ability to comply with

the release conditions. The officer selects appropriate

supervision strategies and develops a supervision plan, which

the officer modifies if the defendant’s circumstances change.

The officer carries out risk management activities to help

ensure that the defendant complies with the release

conditions, as the examples in the chart on this page show. 

Among the officer’s routine supervision tasks are monitoring

the defendant through personal contacts and phone calls with

the defendant and others, including family members, 

employers, and treatment providers; meeting with the 

defendant in the pretrial services office and at the defendant’s

home and job; helping the defendant find employment; and

helping the defendant find medical, legal, or social services. 

Also, some officers–for instance, drug and alcohol treatment 

Condition of release Risk management activity

Maintain or commence

an educational program.

‘Verify enrollment by contacting the

registrar.

‘Obtain copies of registration forms,

attendance sheets, transcripts, or report

cards.

‘Contact the defendant at school.

‘Verify attendance with relatives.

Abide by specified

restrictions on personal

associations.

‘Visit the defendant’s home, job, or

school unannounced.

‘Communicate with other officers who

supervise the defendant’s codefendants

to make sure there has been no contact.

‘Contact law enforcement agents, the

assistant U.S. attorney, or the

defendant’s family to monitor

compliance.

Refrain from using

drugs.

‘Give periodic, unannounced drug tests.

‘If test results are positive, and drug

treatment is not a release condition, ask

the court to modify the release order to

require treatment.

‘Look for physical signs of drug abuse.

‘Contact family, employers, and law

enforcement agents to monitor

compliance.

specialists or home confinement specialists--perform special

supervision duties that require certain skills or expertise. 

If the release conditions become unnecessary, the officer asks

the court to remove them. If the defendant violates the release

conditions, the officer notifies the court and the U.S. attorney. 

Depending on the circumstances, the officer may recommend

that the court conduct a hearing to decide whether to modify

the release conditions, revoke the defendant’s bail, issue a

bench warrant, or order the defendant detained. 

4. The officer, at the request of the U.S. attorney,

investigates whether the defendant is suitable for

placement in a pretrial diversion program.

Pretrial diversion is an alternative to prosecution that diverts the

defendant from prosecution to a program of supervision

administered by the pretrial services officer. The U.S. attorney

identifies candidates for diversion–persons who have not

adopted a criminal lifestyle and who are likely to complete the

program successfully. The pretrial services officer investigates

the individual, recommends for or against placement, and

recommends length of supervision and special conditions. 

Diversion is voluntary; the person may opt to stand trial instead. 

If the individual is placed in the program, he or she is supervised

by a pretrial services officer. If the person successfully

completes supervision, the government declines prosecution

and makes no record of the arrest. 

 Office of Probation and Pretrial Services

Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

 January 2003