It is vitally important for agencies within criminal legal systems to understand the roles played by other agencies. A lack of understanding can result in siloed operations, rather than the integrated functionality all systems strive for.
When Montgomery, Illinois, Deputy Chief of Police Armando Sanders began serving on a Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA) implementation task force, he was surprised by his lack of knowledge about the pretrial phase and about the responsibilities of other agencies—especially pretrial services.
“I thought I knew a lot more than I actually knew. But understanding pretrial services, that was just one thing that I was like, wow, we really didn’t know about that,” Sanders said.
The pretrial phase of the criminal legal system often begins when law enforcement officers initiate contact with a person. After making an arrest and booking the person into jail, however, officers may not always have a clear understanding of what happens to them.
Sanders found that this was true for his law enforcement colleagues. “I called in some of our personnel and asked, ‘What are pretrial services?’ They would say the same thing: ‘I don’t know. Services before trial?’ They weren’t really sure either.”
Sanders’ experience inspired him to advocate for a new professional development training opportunity for all Illinois law enforcement officers. With his support, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board added the Pretrial Services Overview course to its continuing education options in September 2023. The training helps law enforcement officials understand pretrial services and their role in the criminal legal system and serves as a template for other jurisdictions seeking to enhance awareness of pretrial services among their agencies.
“Understanding pretrial services, that was just one thing that I was like, wow, we really didn’t know about that.”
Collaboration and Education
Best known for completely eliminating money bonds as a condition of pretrial release, the PFA ushered in an array of complex practice and policy changes. To implement the law successfully, it was essential for local pretrial system stakeholders to form collaborative task forces to review the legislation and discuss what would need to change under the new law.
Deputy Chief Sanders served on the Kane County PFA Implementation Task Force along with representatives of the court, the public defense, the state’s attorney’s office, pretrial services, and other agencies.
It was there that he realized he didn’t fully understand the concept of pretrial services, despite having more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement. Typically, law enforcement curriculums don’t include coursework on pretrial services. Sanders began asking questions.
“I was listening in these meetings when we were talking about pretrial services and the different things they do,” said Sanders. He learned that pretrial services include a variety of resources, such as support from social workers and job placement agencies, and care for substance use disorders. “I didn’t know that there’s a state mandate that each county has pretrial services.”
Tanya Anderson, associate director of the Center for Effective Public Policy, provided technical assistance to the Illinois Supreme Court Pretrial Implementation Task Force. She noted the importance of improving the awareness of stakeholders like Deputy Chief Sanders.
“As we began to work on implementation of the PFA, law enforcement needed to be part of the discussions because the whole pretrial process starts with them,” Anderson said.
Silos Common in Pretrial Systems
Pretrial systems often operate in silos, with multiple independently elected or appointed stakeholders and no single agency or leader accountable for pretrial outcomes or their impacts on communities. System stakeholders are frequently unaware of how parts of the pretrial system work and why, and they may not be aware of pretrial legal principles or research, including findings showing that most people succeed on pretrial release.
When systems form collaborative teams, however, they build a shared understanding of their own pretrial system. In Kane County, that collaboration identified gaps in understanding of pretrial services and differences in the meaning of terms used by stakeholders.
“We learned that ‘detained’ meant something totally different to law enforcement than it did to the rest of the system stakeholders,” said Anderson.
Sanders explained, “For law enforcement, ‘detain’ means ‘when I stop you and you’re no longer free to leave,’” said Sanders. “In the Pretrial Fairness Act, detain means ‘when someone is taken into custody until they’re released after seeing the judge.’”
“It’s important to start with defining the words so we’re all on the same page.”
Pretrial Services Overview Training
Sanders and Anderson agreed that training on pretrial services would be helpful to all law enforcement officials. They began developing the curriculum for a 30-minute training to give a basic understanding of pretrial services in Illinois, focusing on the role of law enforcement.
The training starts by outlining the roles in the criminal legal system and defining pretrial services. Participants learn about the goals of pretrial justice:
- maximizing court appearances
- maximizing public safety
- maximizing pretrial release
- maximizing equity
In Anderson’s view, there are two important themes of the training. First, pretrial release is a Constitutional right that applies to all people. U.S. Supreme Court rulings and constitutional protections require the release before trial of most people who are arrested, prohibit excessive bail, and ensure due process and equal protection.
Second, Anderson believes that law enforcement should have a greater recognition of the role they play in community engagement. For this part of the training, participants are asked about the mission statement of their own department. Often, such statements mention public service, community engagement, and protection—ideas that are focused on groups of people such as families, business owners, children, and the elderly. They often, however, overlook people who have been accused of a crime and who are still members of the community. Law enforcement is duty-bound to protect the rights of all people.
Regarding law enforcement oaths to protect and serve the public, Anderson commented, “People focus on the protect side of law enforcement. But what about serving the community? That’s where the community engagement piece comes in.”
Sanders agreed with Anderson about the importance of law enforcement being part of the community. He emphasized that officers should be familiar with local community resources.
“As law enforcement officers, we should know what services are available because not every call is going to be referred to a social worker. People can rely on you for advice and guidance. It doesn’t cost us anything to tell someone about a resource they can use—where someone can get food, or where they can get drug treatment or housing or job placements.”
Sanders continued by saying, “We’ve got to realize the bigger picture is the community, having an understanding about pretrial services, and what law enforcement can help with.”
In reflecting on the collaboration and developing the training, Sanders concluded, “I encourage law enforcement agencies to take the time to understand pretrial services in their county or state. When officers fully understand the rights of all people and the goals of pretrial services, they can be more engaged in the pretrial process. And that will make for a stronger and more successful criminal legal system for all involved.”
About the Author
C.C. Strom is a writer and communications consultant based in Minneapolis. She’s committed to telling the stories of nonprofit organizations and building stronger communities.