Practitioner Perceptions of the Use and Utility of Pretrial Risk Assessment: Focus Group Analysis[1].

RISK assessment; FOCUS groups

This study sought to fill this gap in the literature by reporting central themes from 14 separate focus groups of judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, pretrial officers, and criminal justice administrators about the pretrial risk assessment tool that they use. The current study sought to understand the perceived utility of a statewide pretrial risk assessment tool using focus groups of pretrial officers and supervisors, judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys. Theme 1: The Role of the Risk Assessment Tool The role of the risk assessment tool pertains to perceptions about how these tools are used, specifically when informing the bond release decision. Although the pretrial risk assessment tool was not constructed to directly inform the pretrial supervision decision, the tool was favored by pretrial officers because it was thought to provide tangible information about the pretrial defendant that is useful for supervision purposes. [Extracted from the article]

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