Pretrial Risk Assessment in California
Dec 23, 2019
The policies governing California’s pretrial system are undergoing substantial change. Amid recent correctional reforms and ongoing challenges to the state’s bail system, pretrial risk assessment has emerged as a way to help counties make decisions about whether arrested individuals should remain in the community or be detained until any charges stemming from that arrest are resolved.
This report presents an overview of pretrial risk assessment in California and offers considerations for using, evaluating, and improving the effectiveness of local pretrial risk assessment systems.