Decreasing Jail Crowding While
Maintaining Public Safety
Pretrial Solutions for Sheriffs and Jail Administrators
November 29, 2011

Webinar Purpose
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Learn and talk about how, in the past few years, many
local jurisdictions have figured out how simultaneously to
improve public safety and court appearance while
reducing the costs of pretrial jail incarceration.

Objectives
1.
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3.
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Identify the role of pretrial inmates in increasing jail
populations nationally;
Implement legal and research-based policies, practices,
and programs that improve the quality of justice and
public safety at the pretrial stage;
Learn ways that Sheriffs and Jail Administrators can help;
and
Access resources to help with implementing more costeffective pretrial policies and practices

1. Pretrial Inmates and Jail Crowding
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Inmate types: Pretrial, Sentenced, Holds, Contracts,
Others, …
Nationwide: 61% of inmates are on pretrial status
Most of these inmates (88% of felony pretrial inmates)
cannot afford the monetary amount of their bond
Cause: Requiring money prior to release

Pretrial Detainees Far Outnumber
Sentenced Jail Inmates
600,000

500,000

400,000

300,000

200,000

Pretrial Detainee Population on June 30
Sentenced Population on June 30

100,000

0
1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2009

2010

Requiring Money Prior to Release
80

70

60

50

40

30

Percent of Felony Cases Where Money Bail Set
Pretrial Release Rate

20

10

0
1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

Example A: Effects of Money Bail

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Bond Status

Avg. LOS in Jail

Posted

12 days

Not-Posted

121 days

For felony defendants in 40 of the nation’s 75 largest
jurisdictions
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, State Court
Processing Statistics, 2006

Example B: Effects of Money Bail
from Jefferson County, Colorado
Bond Type

•

Defendants' Bond Status 6
Average Time to
to 9 Months Later
Post Bond
Posted
Not Posted

Recognizance

98%

2%

0.1 days

Cash Only

68%

32%

3.4 days

Surety Option

47%

53%

6.9 days

What is a “low” cash-only bond amount?
! If bond was $200 or less, 28% of defendants did not post. If did, average
time was 1-2 days.
! If bond was $201 to $750, 41% of defendants did not post. If did, average
time was 6-7 days.
! If bond was $750 or higher, 67% of defendants did not post. If did, average
time was 9-10 days.

Outcomes: Court Appearance and Public Safety were the same.

2. Implementing Legal and Research-Based
Policies and Practices
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The Problem:
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Don’t know defendants’ risk to public safety or for failure to
appear
Mismatch between defendants’ risk and how that risk is
handled
4 Groups of defendants:
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Higher risk defendants in jail (desirable)
Lower risk defendants in the community (desirable)
Higher risk defendants in the community (a Public Safety problem)
Lower risk defendants in jail (a Jail Crowding problem)

2. Implementing Legal and Research-Based
Policies and Practices
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The Cause
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Lack of effective pretrial risk assessment
Use of a money bond schedule, usually for top charge only
Lack of post-release supervision

2. Implementing Legal and Research-Based
Policies and Practices
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The Solution:
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Develop validated, individualized pretrial risk assessment
Remove money bonds as the determining factor in release or
detention (by not requiring payment prior to release)
Use customized pretrial supervision for both public safety and
court appearance

Pretrial Services Assessment
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Risk Assessment
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmUAaNI2Tl0
Assess each defendant’s risk to public safety and for failing to
appear in court using a validated pretrial risk assessment
instrument
Give risk info to judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney prior
to bond decision

Validated Pretrial Risk Assessment
Instruments
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Objective and standardized, similar to jail classification
Superior to top charge alone
Assesses defendants’
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Current Charge
Other Pending Cases
Criminal History
Failure to Appear History
Residence
Employment
History of Drug Abuse or Mental Illness

Pretrial Services Supervision
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Supervision
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Supervise defendants in community for both public safety and
court appearance

It’s an investment: Spend a little to save a lot
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Increased public safety
$2-5 supervision vs. $50-120 jail, per day
Other savings/benefits (defendants work, pay taxes, avoid
welfare)

3. What Sheriffs and Jail Administrators
can do
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Paint a Picture
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Collaborate with local system stakeholders (judges,
prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation officers, …)
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Collect and analyze the data (similar to previous illustrations)
Use both real-life cases and statistics

Be a champion for system improvement, or find one
Bring decision-makers together
Make the case with the data (stats and examples)
Try using risk assessment and supervision vs. bond schedule
Don’t let other decision-makers off the hook

Work with state associations to support national
associations and their efforts

AJA Resolution on Pretrial Justice
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“[T]he Board of Directors of the American Jail
Association recognizes the value of high-functioning
pretrial services agencies to enhance public and officer
safety, safeguard the judicial process, and aid jail
administrators in safely managing jail populations.”

What’s Happening Nationally
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Legislation favorable to money bail and bondsmen in FL,
VA, WI, CO, and others
Attorney General’s National Symposium on Pretrial
Justice http://www.pretrial.org/symposium.html

More What’s Happening Nationally
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National organizations are taking public positions for
improving pretrial decision-making
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American Jail Association (AJA)
International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
American Prosecutors Association (APA)
American Council of Chief Defenders (ACCD)
National Association of Counties (NACo)
American Bar Association (ABA)
American Probation and Parole Association (APPA)
National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies (NAPSA)

4. Accessing Training and Technical
Assistance
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Pretrial Justice Institute (PJI) www.pretrial.org

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National Institute of Corrections (NIC) www.nicic.gov
(Lori Eville, leville@bop.gov)

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BJA’s National Training and Technical Assistance Center
(NTTAC) http://bjatraining.org/

4. Accessing Publications
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Jail Crowding: understanding Jail Population Dynamics
http://static.nicic.gov/Library/017209.pdf

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Pretrial Justice Institute
http://www.pretrial.org/Pages/Resources.aspx

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Jail Population Management: Elected County Officials’ Guide
to Pretrial Services
http://www.pretrial.org/Reports/PJI%20Reports/Jail%20Popul
ation%20Management%20Elected%20County%20Officials%2
0Guide%20to%20Pretrial%20Services%20(2009).pdf

4. Accessing Funding
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BJA Byrne/Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program

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State initiatives: California Realignment

Take Home Message
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There is a way to increase public safety and the integrity
of the courts and the rule of law, while spending less
taxpayer money than we are now.
The way to do this is to follow the law and the science "
Local stakeholders use more pretrial risk assessment and
supervision and less money bonds prior to release

Contact Info
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Michael R. Jones
Senior Project Associate
Phone (cell): 303-870-0378
Email: mike@pretrial.org
Web: www.pretrial.org
John Clark
Senior Project Associate
Phone : 202-638-3080, x301
Email: john@pretrial.org
Web: www.pretrial.org