Special Issue: Evidence-Based Practices in Action *30IMPLEMENTING RISK ASSESSMENT IN THE FEDERAL PRETRIAL SERVICES SYSTEM

IN 2009 THE ADMINISTRATIVE Office of the U.S. Courts and the Office of Federal Detention Trustee (a Justice Department agency charged with administering and controlling the costs of pretrial detention in the federal system) published Pretrial Risk Assessment in the Federal Court, which recommended that the federal pretrial services system develop and implement an actuarial risk assessment tool. Ever since then, the system has been moving towards that goal. Lowenkamp and Whetzel (2009) have already detailed the process followed and described the tool that was ultimately developed, the Pretrial Risk Assessment (PTRA). As of August 2011 the tool had been fully implemented in almost all districts; therefore, it seems an appropriate time to assess the tool in light of the available pretrial risk assessment literature, determine how implementation has proceeded in the federal system to this point, and assess the ultimate impact, if any, of the tool on the federal pretrial services system. Perhaps the most important question is whether the tool has begun to affect officer recommendations for release/detention and/or release rates in districts where it has been operational for a year or more.

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