Following a review of the available research regarding pretrial risk assessment instruments being used in other jurisdictions, the Committee decided that "it would be preferable to develop a customized pretrial risk instrument that incorporated all of the positive attributes of these risk instruments but had the advantage of being tested and normed on defendants being released in Nevada" (Final Report, p. 1). This collection of documents explains how the Nevada Pretrial Risk Assessment (NPR) was developed.

"Most of the nation’s bail laws mandate - and NAPSA and the American Bar Association recommend through their respective standards - defendants be released pretrial under the least restrictive conditions required to ensure the defendant attends all future court dates and does not commit any new law violations while out of custody pending case disposition. In most jurisdictions, “least restrictive” is defined as release back into the community, either on the defendant’s own recognizance or under court-ordered conditions of supervision.

"What is the best way to correct the behavior of lawbreakers, ensuring that they do not reoffend? For nonviolent and low-risk criminals, jail diversion programs and other forms of alternative sentencing could be a worthy solution."

"The Smart on Crime initiative, announced by the Department of Justice (Department) in August 2013, highlighted five principles to reform the federal criminal justice system by, among other things, ensuring just punishments for low level, non-violent offenders. Smart on Crime encouraged federal prosecutors in appropriate cases involving non-violent offenders to consider alternatives to incarceration such as pretrial diversion and diversion-based court programs where appropriate.

"As a first-time offender, Ms. Willis, 52, qualified for a big break: a program called pretrial intervention, also known as diversion. If she took 12 weeks of classes, performed 24 hours of community service and stayed out of trouble, her case would be dismissed and her arrest could be expunged, leaving her record clean."

"The evolution of justice policy in the United States has been far from linear. The last several decades have seen dramatic shifts in the management of criminal justice populations across the country, especially with regard to drug policy.

"This paper presents evidence of the effects of pretrial detention status on criminal case outcomes in federal criminal cases. I find that criminal defendants who are released pending trial earn a roughly 72 percent decrease in sentence length and a 36 percentage-point increase in the probability of receiving a sentence below the recommended federal sentencing Guidelines range.

Conference of State Court Administrators.
The focus of this paper is a set of recommendations from COSCA regarding specific policies and practices that courts can adopt to minimize the negative impact of LFOs [legal financial obligations] while ensuring accountability for individuals who violate the law.

"In misdemeanor cases, pretrial detention poses a particular problem because it may induce otherwise innocent defendants to plead guilty in order to exit jail, potentially creating widespread error in case adjudication."

"Politicians across the spectrum have begun advocating for criminal justice reforms to reduce the prison population in the United States. Until recently, the dysfunctional bail process has not been at the forefront of the national discussion, even though the most common form of bail - cash bonds or financial release - produces jail overcrowding and fuels mass incarceration. In addition, money-based bail systems cause significant racial and ethnic disparities in pretrial detention and beyond.