Wednesday Series IV: Evidence-Based Practice in Pretrial Services

Tim Murray is the Executive Director of the Pretrial Justice Institute. While at PJI, Tim has successfully garnered the support of stakeholders such as: the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Association of Counties, the American Bar Association, National Public Radio, the US Department of Justice, numerous philanthropic foundations, and others in calling for safe and rational pretrial justice policies. Prior to joining PJI, Tim served in a variety of executive positions with the Bureau of Justice Assistance including Deputy Director. Tim was instrumental in the design and implementation of the nation's first Drug Court in Miami FL, he convened the first national drug court conference and served as the first federal Drug Court Program Office Director. Tim is the proud recipient of Pioneer Awards from the National Association of Drug Court Professionals and the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies (NAPSA), as well as NAPSA's Olgiati and Member of the Year awards.

Spurgeon Kennedy is Director of the D.C. Pretrial Services Agency's Office of Research, Analysis and Development. In that position, Mr. Kennedy helps lead the Agency's strategic planning initiatives and efforts to implement evidence-based practices and innovations.

Before joining the Pretrial Services Agency, Mr. Kennedy served as Programs Manager with the U.S. Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice, overseeing the Institute's Breaking the Cycle system-wide drug testing and treatment initiative, and helping to create and implement field tests, demonstration programs, and other applied research.

Mr. Kennedy also served as a Senior Associate with the Pretrial Services Resource Center, a technical assistance provider to and national clearinghouse for information about pretrial services agencies and court processing and jail crowding issues.

During his nearly 30 years in the criminal justice field, Mr. Kennedy has provided technical assistance and support to organizations such as the Office of Justice Programs, the American Bar Association, the National Institute of Corrections, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. He also has served as a facilitator or training faculty member for agencies such as the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies, the American Probation and Parole Association, the National Institute of Corrections, the National Institute of Justice, the Office on Violence Against Women, and state pretrial associations in Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, and California.

In addition, Mr. Kennedy has authored or co-authored several criminal justice articles and publications, including:
Charge Specialty and Re-victimization by Defendants Charged with Domestic Violence Offenses (National Institute of Corrections, Topics in Community Corrections, 2008)
Pretrial Diversion in the 21st Century: A National Survey of Pretrial Diversion Programs (Bureau of Justice Assistance, forthcoming)
Commercial Surety Bail: Assessing Its Role in the Pretrial Release and Detention Decision (Pretrial Services Resource Center: November 1996)

Barbara is the Executive Director of Pre-Trial Services Corporation where she has been employed since 1985. She holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration and served in a number of positions with the agency before becoming the Executive Director in 2001. Barbara served for a number of years on the Board of the New York State Association of Pretrial Service Agencies (NYAPSA), including a term as Vice President for Diversion. Currently, Barbara is the Treasurer of the National Association of Pretrial Service Agencies Board of Directors. She served on NAPSA's Release Standards Revision Committee. She is a long standing member of the NAPSA Diversion Committee and is the primary author for the 2008 revision of the Pretrial Diversion/Intervention Standards. In addition, Barbara has worked with the National Institute of Corrections on a number of projects including the Pretrial Release training DVD and the Pretrial Executive Development training series. She was awarded NYAPSA's Olgiati Award in 1998 and NAPSA's Member of the Year in 2005.

Mr. Peterca is a graduate of Bowling Green State University with B.A.'s in Political Science, Sociology, and History. He has worked for the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas for over 30 years where he began as a probation officer. In 1985, he was promoted to supervisor. His experience has included supervision of the following units: Field Units, Alcohol and Drug Dependency Unit, Mentally Retarded Offender Unit, General Supervision Unit, and Pretrial Unit. In 1989, he became manager of the Pretrial Services Unit during its expansion from what was then a staff of two and is presently a staff of twenty. Pretrial Services has expanded to include the Felony Diversion Program, the Early Intervention Program, as well as jail reduction, domestic violence and mental health specializations.

Mr. Peterca serves as Project Director of the CCA Jail Reduction Program, Halfway House Liaison, Co-Director of the Greater Cleveland Drug Court, Coordinator of the Mental Health Docket and Mental Health Initiative and on several local criminal justice, jail, mental health and substance abuse planning groups. Mr. Peterca also serves on the following State of Ohio boards: Ohio Association of Pretrial Service Agencies (OAPSA), CCA Advisory, Supreme Court Mental Health Advisory Committee, Ohio Community Corrections Organization (OCCO), as well as several other planning and budget committees. Nationally, he has served on the NAPSA Release Standards and Diversion committees. He has also provided technical assistance to the National Institute of Corrections (Competency Model) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (Consensus Project). He is currently a member of the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) Pretrial Executive Network.

Mr. Peterca is a past recipient of the NAPSA Member of the Year Award in 2003, the OCCO Dr. Simon Dinitz Award in 2001 and the OAPSA Recognition Award in 2000.