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How are Pretrial Service Agencies Dealing with the Coronavirus?

In line with directives from the White House, state authorities, and local officials, criminal justice agencies around the country have modified operations to comply with social distancing, travel restrictions, and mandatory health orders due to COVID-19. These policies have a significant impact on the judiciary, causing courthouse closures, the suspension of jury trials, and the halting or modification of court orders. It has required criminal justice decision makers to swiftly examine their pretrial populations and practices to comply with these modified operations.

In this webinar you will hear from decision makers who were responsible for upholding these recommendations. They will share their challenges and experiences in implementing these directives, as well as the opportunities they found for adopting long- term practice changes that focus on maximizing public safety, court appearances, and release of pretrial defendants.

Webinar Objectives:

  • Discuss the collaborative efforts among pretrial services, the courts, district attorney’s offices, and jails to manage the pretrial population during the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Identify innovative approaches to support defendant court appearance and connection with pretrial service officers.
  • Highlight early challenges and opportunities.
  • Show how technology is playing a key role in the new normal.
  • Provide key resources to the field.

Moderators/Speakers:

Greg Crawford, Correctional Program Specialist, National Institute of Corrections
Lori Eville, Correctional Program Specialist, National Institute of Corrections
Spurgeon Kennedy, Vice-President, National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies

Panel Members:

The Honorable Karen Thomas, Judge, 17th Judicial District of Kentucky
Tara Boh Blair, Executive Officer, Kentucky Court of Justice, Department of Pretrial Services
Kevin Burns, Captain, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, New Mexico
Krista Lawrence, Division Director, 11th Judicial District and Magistrate Courts, New Mexico
Jon Tunheim, Prosecuting Attorney, Thurston County District Court, Washington
Marianne Clear, Director, Thurston County Pretrial Services, Washington

Who Should Attend?

Pretrial justice professionals with executive-level pretrial decision making responsibilities, including judges, prosecutors, defense counsel, Sheriffs, Jail Administrators, operational staff, agency and supervisory staff, and frontline pretrial service officers.

How Do I Register?

Follow this link to register in NIC’s WebEx Event Center
https://nicmeetings.webex.com/nicmeetings/onstage/g.php?MTID=eb690a28e5d7561765e95b16904e6f5c4

If you encounter difficulty in accessing the registration link, please work with your local / agency IT to see if local /agency firewall settings / pop-up blockers / security settings are preventing you from accessing NIC’s webinar URL (https://nicmeetings.webex.com/) and/or the webinar registration link.

Who Do I Contact for More Information?

Content Contact:
Greg Crawford, Correctional Program Specialist, Community Services Division

Webinar Technical Contact:
Leslie LeMaster, Correctional Program Specialist, Academy Division

How Do I Participate Effectively In a WebEx Event Center Webinar? How Do I Get Ready?

For the best experience in your next NIC WebEx Event Center webinar, you’ll need a hands-free telephone, headset or earbuds, and an internet-enabled computer. For optimum learning, be in a quiet place, free from distractions/interruptions, sight-and-sound separated from others, where you can concentrate on what is happening during the webinar. A separate office space with a door to close is an ideal setting. Connect to the webinar audio bridge via a hands-free telephone, using earbuds/headset connected to your phone/cell phone, so your hands are free to interact with your keyboard.

While tablets and smartphones are also compatible with WebEx Event Center, several of the features are limited, and most devices require that the Cisco WebEx app is installed. Regardless of which device you plan to use, test its compatibility here. This is a quick test, and we strongly encourage you to do this before the webinar. If your browser does not pass the test, contact WebEx Technical Support at 1-877-669-1782 and tell them you will be attending an NIC webinar on NIC’s WebEx site at https://nicmeetings.webex.com/. They can help you troubleshoot connectivity issues.

NIC strongly recommends consulting with your agency/local IT, as you may encounter pop-up blocking and/or firewall issues that block the NIC WebEx webinar URL.

Click https://nicic.gov/webinar-vilt-readiness for further information on NIC’s live webinars, including the answers to many frequently asked questions such as “What is the cost of the webinar?” (Free!), “How do I obtain training credit from your agency?”, “Will the webinar be recorded?” (YES!!), “How do I get my computer system ready to access the webinar?” and much more!

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