Pretrial Risk Assessment in the Federal Court for the Purpose of Expanding the Use of Alternatives to Detention

The identification of “federal criminal defendants who are most suited for pretrial release without jeopardizing the integrity of the judicial process or the safety of the community, in particular release predicated on participation in an alternatives to detention program” is investigated. Sections following an executive summary include: introduction; population description; research objective one -- pretrial risk classification; research objective two -- risk levels, release and detention rates, and pretrial failure rates; research objective three -- alternatives to detention, risk levels, and pretrial failure; research objective four -- efficacy of the alternatives to detention program; research objective five -- current risk assessment practices; and research objective six -- best practices for pretrial risk assessment and recommendations.