Pretrial officers gather information from defendants about where they live, where they work, whom they live with. Pretrial Officers verify that information with an outside source and conduct criminal record checks for the court. For defendants on probation, pretrial officers notify the probation officer so his/her concerns/comments are communicated to the court. Victims of physical assaults are contacted and their safety concerns are relayed to the Court. This information assists the Court in making the most appropriate bond decision for that individual defendant. Because of the information provided to the Court, the defendants’ initial bond may remain the same, be decreased or it may be increased.
Pretrial Programs provide supervision and monitoring of conditions of release as ordered by the court. Supervision may consist of face-to-face contacts with the defendants, weekly call-ins, curfew compliance, electronic monitoring, following court ordered conditions of release such as curfews, no contact with victims, obtaining substance abuse assessments, mental health assessments, etc.
Violations of Court ordered release conditions and new arrests are reported to the court. There is no other agency or system in the pretrial process that does this.