Honoring a Trailblazer
As we welcome 2026, we honor Timothy Schnacke, who recently announced his retirement in a post to the APPR Community. Tim, a legal analyst, author, historian, and advocate, has inspired us and countless others to remain focused on American legal principles and evidence-based policies and practices.
Upcoming Events
Learn from experienced pretrial practitioners, researchers, and leaders about a wide range of pretrial topics that touch on all aspects of the pretrial system.
Events Calendar
Pretrial Resources
Explore our action-focused resources that help you plan for and implement pretrial improvements to generate better outcomes, advance equity, and much more.
Resource Library
Stories from the Field
Discover how pretrial changemakers across the nation are improving their pretrial systems to enhance community well-being and safety.
Read Our Stories
A Growing Movement for “Participatory Defense”
In 2016, Damon Drake was working on an initiative to provide alternatives to incarceration in Ramsey County, Minnesota, when he conducted a survey to better understand community perspectives …
Uplifting the Strengths of Rural Pretrial Systems
Rural and urban criminal legal systems can differ widely. They have different needs, resources, and conditions. Yet, most initiatives and reform efforts focus on urban jurisdictions that experience …
Closing Gaps, Saving Lives
One county’s innovative response to domestic violence.
A Statewide Focus on Pretrial Data
In Virginia, a unique interagency partnership between state and local agencies has generated useful data on the impact of pretrial policies.
Bringing Gender Justice to Pretrial
A new resource helps pretrial systems adopt effective responses to women’s unique challenges.
Breaking the Cycle: Cuyahoga County
A high-risk domestic violence docket offers a promising blueprint for reducing harm and saving lives.
PUBLIC SAFETY ASSESSMENT
The PSA
The Public Safety Assessment (PSA) provides research-based information on people’s likelihood of returning to court and remaining law-abiding on pretrial release. The use of a validated pretrial assessment can contribute to more consistent, fair, and effective pretrial decisions that keep the community safe and uphold legal rights and principles.
About APPR
We’re creating a national network of pretrial professionals and community members who are working to advance pretrial justice. Our work focuses on enhancing the capacity of communities to implement fair, just, and effective pretrial justice, and to expand the number of state and local jurisdictions engaged in data-informed pretrial practices.
