​Wake County Kicks Off Year-Long Program To Implement Pretrial Justice Improvements

Press release from the Wake County Government:

by Stephen R. Walston on 9/24/2020 5:12 PM
Category: WakeGOV Home Page

It’s a fundamental pillar of
the American justice system that those accused of crimes are innocent until
proven guilty.

But, in practice, those
presumed innocent may end up spending weeks, or even months in jail because
they lack the financial resources to post bail while awaiting their day in
court.

Today, Wake County is kicking
off a partnership with Advancing Pretrial Policy and Research to work toward improving the county’s pretrial
justice system, including implementing the Public
Safety Assessment – a
nationally-validated model that uses nine research-based factors to predict the
likelihood a certain person will appear in court and stay out of trouble if
released before trial.

When in place, and when
combined with other pretrial improvements, the Public Safety Assessment has
been associated with a reduced dependence on requiring money to secure a
person’s release, and a decrease in the number of people who spend their days
awaiting trial in jail. Crucially, these outcomes do not increase crime or
undercut court appearance rates.

“We know that our current
criminal justice system should be examined to ensure there is consistent,
equitable, and fair treatment for everyone involved” Wake County District
Attorney Lorrin Freeman, Project Chair, said. “The Public Safety Assessment, in
particular, will help judicial officials in Wake County achieve these results.”

Over the next year, Advancing
Pretrial Policy and Research will
work with a policy team of key leaders and stakeholders to implement the Public
Safety Assessment and recommend other pretrial reforms in Wake County.

The Steering Committee
comprises:

• Judge Vince
  Rozier, Superior Court Judge;
• Judge Ned Mangum,
  District Court Judge;
• Lorrin Freeman,
  District Attorney – Project Chair
• Blair Williams,
  Clerk of Superior Court;
• Gerald Baker,
  Wake County Sheriff
• Chris Graves,
  Chief Magistrate;
• Deonte Thomas,
  Chief Public Defender;
• Daniel Bowes, NC
  Justice Center;
• Ryan Kelly,
  InterAct;
• Niya Fonville,
  Campbell Law School/Wake County Bar Association;
• Chris Dillon,
  Wake County Manager’s Office;
• Kelli Braunbach,
  Wake County General Services Administration Director;
• Ryan Davidson,
  Wake County General Services Administration Business Administration Director –
  Team Lead; and
• Jennifer Gibbs,
  Criminal Justice Alternatives, Acting Executive Director – Team Lead.

Advancing Pretrial Policy and
Research is an initiative dedicated to achieving fair, just, effective pretrial
practices, every day, throughout the nation. APPR is a consortium of
organizations and consultants led by the Center for Effective Public Policy with
support from Arnold Ventures, and is a project of the National Partnership for
Pretrial Justice.

For
more information, visit AdvancingPretrial.org.

This press release was produced by the Wake County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.