What do criminal justice professionals think about risk assessments at pretrial?

Kelle Barrick; Megan Lee Comfort; Matthew T. DeMichele; Samuel Joseph Alexander Scaggs; Shilpi Misra; Peter Michael Baumgartner; Matthew T. DeMichele; Peter Michael Baumgartner; Kelle Barrick; Megan Lee Comfort; Samuel Joseph Alexander Scaggs; Shilpi Misra

What do criminal justice professionals think about risk assessments at pretrial?

DeMichele, M. T., Baumgartner, P. M., Barrick, K., Comfort, M. L., Scaggs, S. J. A., & Misra, S. (2019). What do criminal justice professionals think about risk assessments at pretrial? Federal Probation, 83(1). https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/83_1_5_0.pdf

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Abstract

The authors describe findings from surveys with judges, prosecutors, defenders, and pretrial staff in 30 jurisdictions about their perceptions and use of risk assessments in making pretrial release decisions. Findings suggest that there is both consistency and variability in how criminal justice professionals perceive and value risk assessments. This has important policy implications, as a shared understanding of the utility of the tool may impact its value and the fidelity of its implementation.