This training is available again due to popular demand.
Advancing Pretrial Policy and Research is pleased to offer a free virtual training on the development and use of pretrial performance measures. The training will be held over three consecutive weeks in February. The two content sessions will take place on Wednesday, February 12, and Tuesday, February 25, 2025 from 1 to 3 p.m. ET. An optional office hour in between is on Wednesday, February 19, from 1 to 2 p.m. ET.
The deadline to register is Thursday, February 6.
If you attended a previous Pretrial Performance Measures Training and would like a refresher, please review the recording and materials before attending this training. For the upcoming sessions we have new guest faculty who will share and discuss the measures they‘ve used to improve their local or statewide pretrial systems.
About the Training
Performance measures allow justice agencies and the communities they serve to understand and evaluate more objectively how well they achieve important pretrial goals such as fairness, effectiveness, and efficiency. Common examples of pretrial performance measures are a jurisdiction’s release rate, arrest-free rate, and court appearance rate. Benefits of using performance measures include the ability to assess the effectiveness of new practices, track changes over time, and communicate with stakeholders, including local media professionals and other community members.
This training uses a learn-by-doing approach to help pretrial practitioners (such as pretrial services directors or managers, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement officials, and detention directors) increase their capacity to use local data to better understand and improve their pretrial system.
Session Descriptions
First session
Wednesday, February 12, 1 to 3 p.m. ET
Participants will see their peers’ real-life examples of well-developed data presentations and reports. Faculty will discuss how key pretrial performance measures are defined and expressed and will help participants choose some preliminary measures to calculate with their own local data.
Optional office hour
Wednesday, February 19, 1 to 2 p.m. ET
Between the two content sessions, participants will calcuate a few measures with their local data. People may participate in this optional office hour with faculty to seek guidance and troubleshoot challenges.
Second session
Tuesday, February 25, 1 to 3 p.m. ET
Participants have the opportunity to share their data results and experiences with each other.
Learning Objectives
- Identify how key pretrial performance measures can be defined and expressed
- Gain experience collecting and analyzing data to calculate a few performance measures
- Practice presenting measures to an audience of peers
- Be familiar with APPR resources and the APPR Community
Training Faculty
The trainers for this session are subject matter experts and peer practitioners with extensive experience in using data to gauge how pretrial systems are functioning.
Michael R Jones, PhD, consultant, APPR
Dr. Jones is one of the nation’s top experts in putting pretrial research and law into everyday practice. For over 15 years he has helped hundreds of localities and states implement new pretrial practices that lead to more community safety, court appearances, fairness, and efficient use of public resources. He provides training and consulting to a wide variety of local and state policymakers and practitioners across the country. Previously, he served as a criminal justice planning manager in county government. He holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Missouri–Columbia.
Tammy Meredith, PhD, consultant, APPR
Dr. Meredith helps communities apply science to solving problems. Her social justice projects include preventing environmental violence, promoting pretrial justice, and quantifying racial and gender system disparities. Dr. Meredith cofounded the Atlanta-based public policy research firm Applied Research Services and managed it for nearly 30 years. Her career includes quantitative research to predict violent behavior. She has also led numerous U.S. Department of Justice studies and professional research seminars and published academic and practitioner articles.
Orleny Rojas, JD, senior manager for racial equity and justice, Center for Effective Public Policy
Before joining CEPP, Ms. Rojas oversaw the implementation and operation of New York City’s Supervised Release program in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island as director of criminal court operations. She led a team of social service practitioners who partnered with community organizations to help meet the needs of pretrial participants and improve their outcomes. Ms. Rojas has over 12 years of experience working with criminal justice and community stakeholders to center and address the needs of vulnerable populations.
Hillary Hartoin, court and pretrial services director, Cass County, Indiana
Ms. Hartoin has over a decade of diverse experience in criminal justice, including roles in clerk and court administration, grant management, pretrial supervision, probation, and community corrections. She has led the implementation of data-driven, evidence-based performance measurement and analysis for community supervision. Ms. Hartoin chairs the Indiana Pretrial Data and Coordinator Subcommittees. She regularly presents at national professional conferences on topics such as data, performance measurement, and supervision practices. Ms. Hartoin has degrees in business administration and computer information systems.
Michael Thacker, statewide operations supervisor, Department of Pretrial Services, Kentucky
Mr. Thacker has been with Kentucky Pretrial Services for over 17 years and has served in a variety of supervisory positions including regional supervisor, risk assessment coordinator, and statewide operations supervisor. He has been involved with daily operations, training and curriculum design, fidelity measures, and program implementation. Mr. Thacker earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and sociology from the University of Pikeville and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Tiffin University.
Registration Process
If you are interested in participating in the training sessions on February 12 and February 25 and the optional Office Hour on February 19, please complete the registration application by Thursday, February 6.
Confirmed registrants will receive additional information about the training, including how to prepare for and attend the sessions and how to access related resources.
Please direct any questions to Dr. Michael Jones, lead faculty, at mike@pinnaclejustice.com.