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Frequently Asked Questions
Advancing Pretrial Policy and Research (APPR) is a national initiative seeking to achieve fair, just, equitable pretrial practices that positively impact people, systems, and communities. The Center for Effective Public Policy leads APPR with support from Arnold Ventures.
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You will receive more information as the training date gets closer. If you want to confirm you are registered, please contact Samuel Steed at ssteed@cepp.com.
APPR is building a national network of pretrial professionals and community members who foster support for pretrial justice. APPR engages in several activities, including:
- Providing training to pretrial professionals at no cost
- Developing resources for planning and implementing effective pretrial policies and practices
- Moderating the APPR Community and facilitating questions and discussions about pretrial justice and improvements.
- Assisting jurisdictions implementing the Public Safety Assessment through the APPR Help Desk, implementation guides, and PSA training
- Working with policymakers and local practitioners to influence changes in state policy for intentional decisions about pretrial detention and release
- Supporting local pretrial systems to prepare for system improvements that independent researchers will evaluate
Sign up with APPR to receive updates on technical assistance, research, resources, and training opportunities.
The APPR Roadmap for Pretrial Advancement provides a comprehensive roadmap and approach to improving pretrial policies and practices. It is intended to demonstrate that change is possible and provide actionable guidance on how to achieve it. The Roadmap has two parts. The Policy Roadmap describes 11 policies and practices that apply to various parts of the pretrial system—“what” pretrial systems should be doing if striving toward true pretrial justice. The Implementation Roadmap includes four practices that apply to “how” to implement these policies and practices. Learn about Advancing Pretrial Justice.
Sign up with APPR to receive updates on technical assistance, research, resources, and training opportunities.
The APPR Community is an online forum for people working to advance pretrial justice. It allows pretrial professionals, researchers, and experts to connect and learn from one another. The APPR Community is open to registered users of advancingpretrial.org.
The use of a validated pretrial assessment is one element of the Roadmap for Pretrial Advancement because APPR believes that assessments, including the Public Safety Assessment, can play a positive role in a jurisdiction’s pretrial system. However, implementing an assessment alone cannot and will not result in the pretrial justice goals we seek to achieve. No single strategy, practice, or tool can accomplish these ends. Instead, a comprehensive approach–described in the Roadmap– is necessary. Read our full position on pretrial assessments.
The PSA is a research-based actuarial assessment developed by Arnold Ventures. It estimates the likelihood of attending court and remaining arrest-free while on pretrial release. When used responsibly and with fidelity, the PSA promotes consistent and, as a result, fairer pretrial decisions.
You can learn about the PSA and how it works on the following pages:
- What is the PSA? explains how Arnold Ventures developed it
- How the PSA Works makes the factors and algorithm transparent and publicly available
- PSA Map shows the states and counties where the PSA is used
- PSA Research links to PSA research and validation studies
- Implementing the PSA describes what is required before a decision to implement the PSA
- PSA Guides assist pretrial practitioners with planning and implementing the PSA responsibility and with fidelity.
No. The PSA is not designed to determine financial conditions of release. In fact, the PSA helps jurisdictions limit or eliminate money as a condition of release. Multiple studies concluded that any kind of financial condition does not improve people’s law-abiding behavior or their return to court. But the use of financial conditions results in the detention of many people who could safely be released, and the release of people who pose a danger to community safety but can afford to buy their freedom. The PSA helps pretrial decision makers shift from a system that relies on money to one that relies on information about the likelihood of returning to court for future hearings and remaining arrest-free while on pretrial release.
Read Pretrial’s Money Problem and our research summary on Financial Conditions of Release