Railroad tracks

Stakeholders, practitioners, and researchers are expanding correctional reforms that had focused mostly on post-disposition populations to now include the front end of the criminal justice system.

This is certainly a positive change, but the field is lacking rigorous research testing what works with pretrial defendants and identifying a cadre of evidence-based practices for jurisdictions to implement. Given this dearth in existing knowledge about pretrial efforts, the Crime and Justice Institute is using a data-driven approach to helping jurisdictions empirically identify jail population drivers, propose appropriate reforms and promising practices, and apply a comprehensive implementation framework. By focusing on implementation, agencies integrate reforms with fidelity, monitor reform progress, and then assess the reforms for impact.

Click here to read the report.