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About APPR

Research-Action Sites

Research-Action Sites (RAS) were counties competitively selected to partner with APPR to improve their pretrial justice systems.

About Us APPR Research

Pretrial Advancement

APPR worked with six jurisdictions over six years to:

  • Help communities build a foundation for sustainable policy change
  • Support high-fidelity implementation of pretrial improvements
  • Where desired and appropriate, validate the Public Safety Assessment (PSA), determine if improvements were possible, and monitor the impacts and outcomes associated with its use
  • Build ongoing capacity to use research, data, and collaborative processes to advance pretrial justice practices

Research-Action Sites

"APPR is the first opportunity that Montgomery government, nonprofit, and community leaders have had to work together in an intentional, intensive, and collaborative way to address inequities in our pretrial system. It’s been an invaluable forum to learn together, problem solve, and try new ideas aimed at improving fairness and justice in our city."

Micah West, Senior Staff Attorney, Southern Poverty Law Center and PAM member

Essential Elements to Improvement

APPR believes that advancing pretrial justice requires a comprehensive approach. That includes involving policymakers from all agencies and engaging the community in the improvement process. Our work in Research-Action Sites was grounded in four elements of successful implementation. These include:

  1. Establishing high-functioning collaborative teams who represent community and system stakeholders, who together agree on a vision for their system of pretrial justice, and who meaningfully engage with their colleagues, partners, and neighbors in the process of change.
  2. Continuously educating system and community stakeholders about pretrial justice so that  everyone has a solid understanding of how the current system operates, of federal and state pretrial law, and of the importance of engaging in and being guided by research.
  3. Developing and carrying out proactive and responsive communications, seeking transparency, shared understanding, and deep and wide engagement around pretrial issues among members of the government and the broader community.
  4. Evaluating pretrial performance measures regularly, examining racial, ethnic, gender, and wealth disparities, and continually improving policies and practices.

Complexity

While critical to sustainable and lasting culture change, these essential elements present challenges. Pretrial system stakeholders — law enforcement, jail administrators, prosecutors, defense counsel, judicial officers, and others — have historically worked independently to achieve community safety and well-being through their own, singular efforts, using different approaches. In principle, the distinct roles of these stakeholders provide a fair and balanced system. In practice, those seeking the same ends often view themselves as at odds with one another and as working toward different ends.

Deepening the complexity, justice system stakeholders often perceive themselves as duly selected to define and uphold justice on behalf of the community. Historically, the system has not been structured to engage community members and hear their perceptions about safety or to allow their input on policies. APPR’s technical assistance facilitates the development of high-functioning policy teams, creating a table large enough for system stakeholders and community members to work together meaningfully and collaboratively.