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                                    Pretrial Resources

      

                    
          
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	Technical Assistance
	eCourses
	Webinars & Trainings
	Highlighted Publications
	Related Topics
	FAQsPretrial Resources
Pretrial detention
              Pretrial release
              Pretrial diversion
              Pretrial services
              Pretrial - Policy & Legislation
              Pretrial Research
              Pretrial SupervisionThis content has been compiled to answer the biggest needs and highlight resources for Pretrial professionals and their agencies. This includes pretrial officers, risk assessment specialists, counselors and therapists, administrators and managers, and data analysts. Our goal is to provide a singular page that can be bookmarked and returned to whenever a pretrial specialist wants to fix, fortify, or evolve something in their program or agency.

Lorie Brisbin
      
  Job Title / Position
              Correctional Program Specialist

Division
              Community Services Division

  Agency / Business / Organization
              National Institute of Corrections

  Phone
              202-514-0099
              Katie Green
      
  Job Title / Position
              Correctional Program Specialist

Division
              Community Services Division

  Agency / Business / Organization
              National Institute of Corrections

  Phone
              202-307-0149


  Navigation links for: Pretrial Resources
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                   How can Technical Assistance help my Pretrial organization?

**Providing guidance on best practices:** TA can help a pretrial corrections agency stay up-to-date on the latest research and best practices in the field, and provide guidance on how to implement these practices in your agency.
	**Assisting with program design and implementation:** TA can help a pretrial corrections agency design and implement new programs or initiatives, such as risk assessment tools or rehabilitation programs for pretrial defendants.
	**Offering training and professional development opportunities:** TA can provide training and professional development opportunities for staff, helping them to build the skills and knowledge needed to effectively serve your agency's clients.
	**Providing support for data collection and analysis:** TA can assist with the collection and analysis of data, which can help your agency track its performance and identify areas for improvement.
	**Facilitating the development of partnerships and collaborations:** TA can help your pretrial corrections agency forge partnerships and collaborations with other organizations or agencies, which can help to improve the agency's services and resources.

What is an example of Pretrial Technical Assistance?

When the NIC provided Technical Assistance to the Pretrial Services Agency for the District of Columbia, it helped improve the agency's risk assessment practices and implement a new risk assessment tool.

Specifically, the NIC provided training and professional development opportunities for agency staff on the use of the new tool, and worked with the agency to develop policies and procedures related to its use. The NIC also provided guidance on data collection and analysis, helping the agency track its performance and identify areas for improvement.

Overall, the technical assistance provided by the NIC helped the Pretrial Services Agency for the District of Columbia to more effectively assess the risk levels of pretrial defendants and make more informed decisions about release and supervision. This ultimately helped to improve the agency's operations and better serve its clients.

Apply for NIC Technical Assistance

Online LMS Training and eCourses
          a laptop with a person waving on the screen

Evidence-Based Practices in a Correctional Setting (6-course Learning Plan)
      
            This is a six-course program for front line supervisors and staff in pretrial, probation, jails, prisons, parole, and re-entry. Complete the pre-assessment and each of the courses to earn a certificate.
          Respectful Communication with LGBTQI Youth
      
            This course will provide you with strategies for communicating effectively and professionally with all youth, with a specific focus on LGBTQI youth.
          Establishing the Learning Organization
      
            This course will help you conduct an assessment of your unit or department, help you prepare for the future, and help you put together a plan to maximize the learning of your organization.

Webinars & Trainings
          Price
              $0.00

Pretrial Justice: Principles and Practices
      
            This two-hour program discusses strategies for developing an effective pretrial process (e.g., arrest, interview, risk assessment and recommendation, first appearance

  Amount in Stock
              0
          Pretrial Justice: How to Maximize Public Safety, Court Appearance and Release [Internet Broadcast]
      
            “The history of bail and the law intertwined with [this] history tell us that the three goals underlying the bail
          Pretrial Justice: The Colorado Story
      
            "Over the last few years, Colorado has been working on statewide pretrial justice reform and seen incredible advancements in legislation
          Measuring What Matters: Outcome and Performance Measures for the Pretrial Services Field [Webinar]
      
            Like its previous edition, Measuring What Matters, Second Edition helps agencies gather consistent and meaningful data to track the performance
          COVID-19: How are Pretrial Service Agencies Dealing with the Coronavirus? [Webinar]
      
            In line with directives from the White House, state authorities, and local officials, criminal justice agencies around the country have

Highlighted Publications
          Price
              $0.00

Pretrial Release and Probation: What is the Same and What is Different?

  Amount in Stock
              0
          Measuring What Matters: Outcome and Performance Measures for the Pretrial Services Field (2nd ed)
          A Framework for Implementing Evidence-Based Practices in Pretrial Services
          A Framework for Pretrial Justice: Essential Elements of an Effective Pretrial System and Agency
          Money as a Criminal Justice Stakeholder: The Judge's Decision to Release or Detain a Defendant Pretrial
          Fundamentals of Bail: A Resource Guide for Pretrial Practitioners and a Framework for American Pretrial Reform
          Assessing Local Pretrial Justice Functions: A Handbook for Providing Technical Assistance
          Legal and Evidence Based Practices: Application of Legal Principles, Laws, and Research to the Field of Pretrial Services

Related Topics
          Pretrial



Pretrial Services programs provide information for bail decisions and supervision to promote public safety. By identifying risk factors, judicial officers can balance the presumption of innocence while protecting the community.

Frequently Asked Questions
          details    Do I need to have a law library in my jail?
      Created
              Fri, 07/24/2015 - 12:00 pm UTC
            **Question:**
I want to know if I need to have a law library in my jail. What kinds of issues should I consider? What information do I need?

**Answer:**
Like so many issues in corrections, the answer is: it depends. The point is not necessarily having a law library, but rather providing reasonable access to legal materials and the courts.

Nothing below is a recommendation or opinion from NIC. What is provided is information and resources so you can make an informed decision concerning how inmates at your facility can have access to legal materials and the courts - which can include a law library in the jail itself.

If there are prevailing state jail standards or relevant case law in your jurisdiction, you will need to meet those concerning access to legal materials and access to courts. Absent that, you might want to consider the American Correctional Association (ACA) Adult Local Detention Standards as well ACA's Core Jail standards as a basis for your policies. Here are the two relevant standards:

ACA standard 4-ALDF-6A-03 (Accreditation standards)

"Inmates have access to a law library if there is not adequate free legal assistance to assist them with criminal, civil, and administrative legal matters. Inmates have access to legal materials to facilitate the preparation of documents"

ACA Standard 1-Core-6A-03 (Core Jail Standards)

"Inmates have access to legal materials"

You will want to consider what the courts have said. Take a look at the following:

"Jails and the Constitution: An Overview"

NIC publication authored by William Collins

Text from page 68:

"Over the years the Supreme Court decided several access to the courts cases involving inmates. The most important came in 1977, when the Court said that prison administrators have the affirmative duty to provide inmates with assistance or resources to allow them to meaningfully exercise their right of access to the courts, Bounds v. Smith. Assistance could take the form of persons trained in the law (such as lawyers, paralegals, or law students), adequate law libraries, or some combination of these. A 1996 Supreme Court decision dealing with access to the courts reaffirmed the core principle in Bounds, i.e., that the institution has an affirmative duty to provide some form of assistance (libraries or persons trained in the law) sufficient to give inmates the capability of filing non-frivolous lawsuits challenging their sentence or the conditions of their confinement, Lewis v. Casey."

"The principle from Bounds (and now Lewis) has been extended to jails, although application of the principle may be slightly different in the jail context depending in part on how long inmates remain in the jail. The longer an inmate remains in a jail, the more the right of “access to the courts” places the same demands on the jail as it does on the prison"
Document ID: 022570

Here are actual case law summaries:

The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees state inmates the right to "adequate, effective, and meaningful" access to the courts. Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817, 822, 97 S.Ct. 1491, 1495, 52 L.Ed.2d 72 (1977); Green v. Johnson, 977 F.2d 1383, 1389 (10th Cir.1992). We impose "affirmative obligations" on the states to assure all inmates access to the courts and assistance in the preparation and filing of legal papers. Ramos v. Lamm, 639 F.2d 559, 583 (10th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 1041, 101 S.Ct. 1759, 68 L.Ed.2d 239 (1981). The Supreme Court instructs that states may satisfy this duty "by providing prisoners with adequate law libraries or adequate assistance from persons trained in the law." Bounds, 430 U.S. at 828, 97 S.Ct. at 1498. Although this constitutional obligation does not require states to afford inmates unlimited access to a library, Twyman v. Crisp, 584 F.2d 352, 358 (10th Cir.1978), and there exists no rigid or static formula to assess whether a prison library's resources pass constitutional muster, Johnson v. Moore, 948 F.2d 517, 521 (9th Cir.1991), states must provide inmates with "a reasonably adequate opportunity" to present their legal claims.

In more understandable language:

"The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees state inmates the right to 'adequate, effective, and meaningful' access to the courts." Petrick v. Maynard, 11 F.3d 991, 994 (10th Cir.1993) (quoting Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817, 822 (1977)).

The guarantee of court access is satisfied "by providing prisoners with adequate law libraries or adequate assistance from persons trained in the law." Bounds, 430 U.S. at 828.

Related resources:
      
        Prisoners and Their Information Needs: Prison Libraries Overview: Sambo, Atanda S., Saliu A. Usman, and Nafisa Rabiu, 2...
              Jail Law Libraries: From North Carolina Criminal Law (Part one)
              Jail Law Libraries: From North Carolina Criminal Law (Part two)
              Americans for Effective Law Enforcement Monthly Law Journal: Access to Courts and Legal Information
              Local Government Insurance Trust: LGIT'S Commander's Log: Law Libraries
          details    Do you have any information on human trafficking?
      Created
              Mon, 12/28/2015 - 12:00 pm UTC
  ZenDeskID
              0

            VHHA Human Trafficking Resource Manual

**The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association has developed a human trafficking resource manual, Human Trafficking: Care and Response, in collaboration with clinicians from its member hospitals and health systems with experience in forensic nursing, human trafficking, sexual assault care, and related disciplines.**

Capturing Human Trafficking Victimization Through Crime Reporting

**Farrell, Amy, Dank, Meredith, Kafafian, Matthew, Lockwood, Sarah, Pfeffer, Rebecca, Hughes, Andrea, Vincent, Kyle, 2019**

The Economic Drivers and Consequences of Sex Trafficking in the United States

**Institute for Women's Policy Research, 2017**

NIC Sex Offenders Project Page

This collection of resources is intended to provide a broad overview of current research and trends in the management and treatment of sex offenders.

Trafficking in Persons Report 2017

**U.S. Department of State, 2017**

National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking

**U.S. Department of Justice, 2017**

Consequences of Policing Prostitution: An Analysis of Individuals Arrested and Prosecuted for Commercial Sex in New York City

**Dank, Meredith, Jennifer Yahner, and Lilly Yu, 2017**

Urban researchers gathered data from both groups of the Legal Aid Society’s Exploitation Intervention Project (EIP) clients to describe who is facing arrest in New York City for prostitution and who has faced arrest and prosecution for prostitution in the past. This study explores the background and needs of EIP clients, in addition to the challenges these clients face within the criminal legal system.

**"Faces of Human Trafficking" Video Series**

****Office for Victims of Crime****

The series is intended to be used for outreach and education efforts of service providers, law enforcement, prosecutors, and others in the community. The series includes information about sex and labor trafficking, multidisciplinary approaches to serving victims of human trafficking, effective victim services, victims' legal needs, and voices of survivors.

**Identifying Effective Counter-Trafficking Programs and Practices in the U.S.: Legislative, Legal, and Public Opinion Strategies that Work**

****Bouche, Vanessa, Amy Farrell, and Dana Wittmer, 2016****

**Inside the FBI: Human Trafficking [Podcast]**

****Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), 2015****

**Responding to Sex Trafficking in Your Jurisdiction: A Planning Toolkit**

****Center for Court Innovation, Human Trafficking and the State Courts Collaborative, State Justice Institute, 2015****

This planning toolkit was designed as a guide to help courts and communities assess their current approaches to human trafficking and prositution, and develop or enhance a court-based response.

**Integrating a Trauma-Informed Response in Violence Against Women and Human Trafficking Prosecutions**

****Kristiansson, Viktoria, and JD and Charlene Whitman-Barr, 2015****

This will describe a trauma-informed approach to responding to these crimes and discuss practices where such an approach has already been incorporated, highlighting areas where continued, additional integration is necessary.

**Document ID: 030094**

**What You Need to Know: Sex Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation A Training Tool for Parole Officers**

****ASU School of Social Work, Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research (STIR), 2015****

This training brochure will explore both victimization and the criminal act of sexually exploiting another person for profit.
          details    Racial Disparities and Dynamics in the Criminal Justice System
      Created
              Tue, 11/15/2016 - 12:00 pm UTC
  ZenDeskID
              0

            Research exploring the racial disparities and dynamics of incarceration.Racial Disparities Persist in Many U.S. Jails**The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2023**Despite narrowed gap in incarceration rates, Black people remain overrepresented in jail populations, admissions—and stay longer on average.Racial Inequality in the Prevalence, Degree, Extension, and Permeation of Incarceration in Family Life**Yi, Youngmin, 2023**Using data from the Family History of Incarceration Study, a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults, this study introduces novel descriptive measures that provide a more comprehensive picture of the demography and racially unequal distribution of family incarceration: degree, generational extension, and permeation. This analysis shows that Black adults in the United States are not only more likely to have experienced family incarceration but are also more likely to have had more family members incarcerated and to have had family members from more generations ever incarcerated.Structural racism and the impact on incarcerated midlife women**Hutchinson-Colas Juana, Mary Cathryn Earnhardt, Afsara Mannan, James McGreevy & Gloria A Bachmann, 2022**Women are the fastest growing prison population and most incarcerated women are from Black and Latinx groups.Research exploring the racial disparities and dynamics of incarceration**Close, Melanie, Olive Lu, Shannon Tomascak, Preeti Chauhan, Erica Bond, Data Collaborative for Justice, 2021**This report documents the rates of incarceration for white, Black and Latinx Americans in each state, identifies three contributors to racial and ethnic disparities in imprisonment, and provides recommendations for reform.The Color of Justice: Racial and Ethnic Disparity in State Prisons;**The Sentencing Project, 2021**This report documents the rates of incarceration for white, Black and Latinx Americans in each state, identifies three contributors to racial and ethnic disparities in imprisonment, and provides recommendations for reform.Enhancing Equity in the Criminal Justice System: A Self-Reflection Tool;**SAMHSA, 2021**To build a supportive system that respects the dignity and humanity of all individuals served, criminal justice system stakeholders should enhance their understanding of criminogenic needs and criminal thinking. Use this checklist to explore how your agency can become more equitable.Evidence-Based and Culturally Relevant Behavioral Health Interventions in Practice: Strategies and Lessons Learned from NNEDLearn;**SAMHSA, 2021**This report provides findings from a qualitative analysis of evidence-based and culturally relevant behavioral health practices offered at NNEDLearn, a SAMHSA training, offered from 2011 to 2020. It includes an overview of NNEDLearn, case studies, strategies and lessons learned, and conclusion.Racial Equity and Criminal Justice Risk Assessment;**Freeman, Kelly R., Cathy Hu, Jesse Jannetta, 2021**Racial and ethnic disparity is a pervasive characteristic of the American criminal justice system.Community Supervision Marked by Racial and Gender Disparities;**Horowitz, Jake, Connie Utada, 2018**African-Americans and men are overrepresented in probation and parole population.Trends in Correctional Control by Race and Sex;**Caccavale, Alexander, Thaddeus L. Johnson, William J.Sabol, Council on Criminal Justice, 2019**American prison populations have long been characterized by racial and ethnic disparities.Bias In, Bias Out;**Mayson, Sandra, 2019**Police, prosecutors, judges, and other criminal justice actors increasingly use algorithmic risk assessment to estimate the likelihood that a person will commit future crime. As many scholars have noted, these algorithms tend to have disparate racial impacts.Reimagining Prison Report;**Dulaney, Ruth, Ram Subramanian, Alison Shames, Nicholas Turner, The Vera Institute of Justice, 2018**In this report, the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera) reimagines the how, what, and why of incarceration and asserts a new governing principle on which to ground prison policy and practice: human dignity.Examining Race and Gender Disparities in Restrictive Housing Placements;**Tasca, Melinda, Jillian Turanovic, 2018**Overall, this study found significant racial and ethnic disparities in restrictive housing placements for men and women, compared to legally relevant and administratively relevant factors and other inmate characteristics.Ban the Box, Criminal Records, and Racial Discrimination: A Field Experiment;**Agan, Amanda, Sonja Starr, The Quarterly Journal of Aconomics, 2018**“Ban the Box” (BTB) policies restrict employers from asking about applicants’ criminal histories on job applications and are often presented as a means of reducing unemployment among black men, who disproportionately have criminal records.An Unjust Burden: The Disparate Treatment of Black Americans in the Criminal Justice System;**Hinton, Elizabeth Kai, LeShae Henderson, Cindy Reed, The Vera Institute of Justice, 2018**This brief presents an overview of the ways in which America’s history of racism and oppression continues to manifest in the criminal justice system, and a summary of research demonstrating how the system perpetuates the disparate treatment of black people.Divided Justice: Trends in Black and White Jail Incarceration 1990-2013;**Subramanian, Ram, Kristi Riley, Chris Mai, The Vera Institute of Justice, 2018**This report dives into the data on black and white incarceration trends from 1990 to 2013, and poses several questions for further exploration that might explain why these rates are shifting.Pretrial Risk Assessment Can Produce Race-Neutral Results;**Pretrial Justice Institute (PJI), 2017**Validated risk assessment tools are fairer and safer than money bail and can protect against racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system.Examining Racial Disparities in Criminal Case Outcomes Among Indigent Defendants in San Francisco;**Owens, Emily, Eric M. Kerrison, and Bernardo Santos DaSilveira, 2017**In this report, we document that Black, White and Latinx indigent defendants in San Francisco have substantially different experiences during the criminal adjudication process. Specifically, defendants of color are more likely to be held in custody during their cases, which tend to take longer than the cases of White defendants.The Implicit Racial Bias in Sentencing: The Next Frontier;**Bennett,Mark W., The Yale Law Journal, 2017**Cutting edge empirical studies of inmate populations in several states strongly suggest implicit racial bias contributes to increases in the length of sentences based on offenders’ darker skin tone and more pronounced Afrocentric features.Risk, Race, & Recidivism: Predictive Bias and Disparate Impac;**Skeem, Jennifer, Christopher T. Lowenkamp, 2016**Based on a sample of 34,794 federal offenders, we empirically examine the relationships among race (Black vs. White), actuarial risk assessment (the Post Conviction Risk Assessment [PCRA]), and re-arrest (for any/violent crime).In Our Own Backyard: Confronting Growth and Disparities in American Jails;**Subramanian, Ram, Christian Henrichson, Jacob Kang-Brown, The Vera Institute of Justice, 2015**Vera researchers developed a data tool that includes current and historical jail incarceration rates for every U.S. county.Black Lives Matter: Eliminating Racial Inequality in the Criminal Justice System;**Ghandnoosh, Nazgol, The Sentencing Project, 2015**This briefing paper identifies four key features of the justice system that contribute to its disparate racial impact, and presents recent best practices for targeting these inequities drawn from adult and juvenile justice systems around the country.Federal Sentencing Disparity: 2005–2012;**Rhodes, William, Ryan Kling, Jeremy Luallen, and Christina Dyous, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), 2015**Federal Sentencing Disparity, 2005-2012, examines patterns of federal sentencing disparity among white and black offenders, by sentence received, and looks at judicial variation in sentencing since Booker vs. United States, regardless of race.Examining Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Probation Revocation Summary Findings and Implications from a Multisite Study;**Janetta, Jesse, Justin Breaux, Helen Ho, and Jeremy Porter, Urban Institute, 2014**This brief discusses Urban’s study examining the degree of disparity in probation revocation outcomes and the drivers of that disparity.The Changing Racial Dynamics of Women’s Incarceration;**Mauer, Marc Mauer, The Sentencing Project , 2013**This study examined the changing racial dynamics of incarcerated persons, especially as they pertain to women. 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