Advancing Pretrial Policy and Research (APPR) is offering a free virtual training: Demystifying Preventive Detention: Principles, Policy, and Practice. The training is on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. ET. The deadline to register is Thursday, June 18.
About the Training
Preventive detention is the practice of ordering that a person be detained during the pretrial period, typically based on an appraisal of their danger to the community or risk of flight. It is a key component of many pretrial systems, particularly those that no longer use financial conditions of release (often called “money bond”) such as Illinois and New Jersey. These systems require a judicial officer to make informed, intentional, and direct decisions about release and detention, rather than allowing a person’s release to be contingent on their access to money.
Even states that continue to use money bond, can incorporate the principles underlying preventive detention—including clear legal criteria; due process protections; and accurate standardized information about the person, their criminal history, and the alleged offense—into daily practices. In most cases, making intentional decisions based on risk, rather than defaulting to financial conditions, has the potential to transform your pretrial system in ways that uphold constitutional rights and improve community safety and well-being.
This training explores what preventive detention is, how it differs across jurisdictions, and what it takes to implement its key principles in a manner that is fair, consistent, and aligned with legal and research-based principles.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the training, participants will:
- Define preventive detention and understand its various models and underlying principles
- Recognize how preventive detention decisions are made in practice
- Learn how to integrate preventive detention principles into first appearance hearings, while still relying on financial conditions of release
Training Faculty
Alison Shames, director, Center for Effective Public Policy
Ms. Shames is a co–project director of APPR and serves on CEPP’s board of directors. She is a lawyer who has provided training and technical assistance in pretrial justice, community supervision, sentencing, and corrections to dozens of jurisdictions for over 20 years. Ms. Shames previously worked at the Vera Institute of Justice and as an independent justice consultant. She received her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and her JD from New York University School of Law.
Matt Alsdorf, associate director, Center for Effective Public Policy
Mr. Alsdorf is a co–project director of APPR. He previously served as the vice president of criminal justice at the Laura and John Arnold Foundation (now Arnold Ventures). He is a nationally recognized expert in pretrial advancement, with a focus on the national, state, and local legal landscapes, and frequently speaks about these issues on behalf of CEPP. Mr. Alsdorf is responsible for the development of APPR’s pretrial resources and provides technical assistance to jurisdictions across the country. He received his BA from Williams College and his JD from Yale Law School.
Hon. Bo Zeerip, County Court Judge, Delta County, CO
The Honorable Bo Zeerip has served as a judge for five years in Delta County, Colorado. He presides over all court cases, including criminal, civil, and bond court. Before being appointed to the bench, he served as a prosecutor for 14 years in Mesa County, Colorado, where he served as chief deputy district attorney. He has been involved with many local and statewide committees on best practices in pretrial justice and bail decision-making. He also served on the Pretrial Task Force for the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice and on the standards committee for the most recent edition of pretrial standards from the National Association of Pretrial Service Agencies (NAPSA).
Application Process
If you are interested in attending the training session on June 23, please complete the training registration by Thursday, June 18.
APPR will make selection decisions immediately after the registration deadline. Confirmed participants will receive additional information about the training, including how to attend the online session and access related resources.
Please direct any questions to Samuel Steed, operations assistant at the Center for Effective Public Policy, at ssteed@cepp.com.
