Pretrial Justice in America

The Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Program: National Initiatives, administered by the Office of Justice Programs' Bureau of Justice Assistance, furthers the Department's mission by assisting state and local jurisdictions in improving the criminal justice system and assisting communities in preventing drug abuse and crime. In FY 2008, the program will focus on funding local, regional, and national efforts within five major categories: 1) preventing crime and drug abuse; 2) enhancing local law enforcement; 3) enhancing local courts; 4) enhancing local corrections and offender reentry; and 5) facilitating justice information sharing.

The Pretrial Justice Institute will implement the Pretrial Justice in America project under category 2: enhancing local courts. The Pretrial Justice Institute will conduct a national survey of county pretrial practices and publish a monograph titled "Fourth Survey of Pretrial Services Agencies.' The goal of the monograph is to continue an annual census of 300 pretrial services agencies in the U.S. The goal of the national survey of each of the 3,100 counties pretrial practices is to document the practice of preventative detention without due process. The national survey will result in the publication of 'Pretrial Justice in America.' The Pretrial Justice Institute will coordinate their activities with the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies, the American Probation and Parole Association, the National Association of Counties, and other organizations. The monograph and the national survey publication will be available on the Pretrial Justice Institute website.

CA/NCF