Research has shown that an individual accused of a crime is better able to prepare their defense if released from incarceration pretrial. In addition to reducing local jail populations, appropriate pretrial release allows individuals to maintain employment, housing, and family responsibilities, all of which contribute to families and the community. The opportunity to obtain needed services during pretrial release reduces the delay before treatments can begin. If services are utilized by the participant, those efforts can be report to the Courts at sentencing, showing the participant's willingness to make needed changes.
Applying for Drug Court
During the pretrial assessment, the pretrial coordinator can identify potential candidates for the Drug Court Program. They can be educated about the program and given an application for admissions. This has decreased the amount of time between arrest and admission into the Drug Court resulting in an increase in participation by 75% since January 2017.
If a participant is admitted to and competes the Drug Court Program, his or her charges are dismissed. Both Pretrial Services and the Drug Court are part of the Court Services Program.