Pretrial services allow counties to save tax dollars by monitoring defendants who pose little risk to public safety while they are waiting for a final court disposition. Diversion programs are also designed to divert low level, first time offenders and ensure that costly jail beds are available for dangerous offenders who are likely to abscond or reoffend. Furthermore, pretrial programs give defendants who cannot post bail due to financial restrictions the protection against excessive bail as laid out in the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
The Citizen's Right to Know Act that passed in 2008, required pretrial programs to report information on a weekly basis to the Clerk’s Office. The intent of the legislation was for pretrial programs to be more transparent, despite the fact that all of the information was available under Florida's broad sunshine laws. Bail bond companies take bonds on tens of thousands of defendants, but do not report any comparable information. The result of the Citizen's Right to Know Act has since produced questionable results, forcing pretrial programs to increase their administrative workload without requiring the bail industry to demonstrate their success or failure. Click here for OPPAGA's analysis.
The National Association of Counties and the Pretrial Justice Institute published a report to help county officials learn about the benefits pretrial programs can offer. To read Jail Population Management: Elected County Officials' Guide to Pretrial Services click here.
The Office of Justice Programs hosted a National Symposium on Pretrial Justice in Washington, DC in the early summer of 2011. This was the first gathering of national officials since U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy called together the National Conference on Bail and Criminal Justice in1964. The Symposium’s website provides factual information for pretrial practioners, the media and community leaders. For more information visit: http://www.pretrial.org/symposium.html.
Additional resources:
Washington Post article: Holder - More non-violent offenders should await trial at home
Legal History of Pretrial Release
Laws and Rules Pertaining to Pretrial Release