Pretrial Supervision’s Prediction for Probation

Abstract

Pretrial interventions are being investigated nationally to determine what is most beneficial for both the Courts and defendants to ensure public safety and court appearance. This study is one of the first to examine the impact of pretrial interventions (jail and community supervision) and post-conviction community supervision outcome. It was found that pretrial supervision and jail time can be predictors for probation outcome when controlling for demographics and criminal risk. Additionally, surveys were provided to defendants to show the perceived areas in their lives that pretrial incarceration has had the most impact. The findings support the literature in that pretrial incarceration should be limited as it can have detrimental effects on not only the outcome of the court case but the outcome of probation. Additionally, the findings support pretrial supervision to be an effective learning tool for success on post conviction community supervision.