CJA’s Release Recommendation System: Recommending Defendants for Pretrial Release in New York City

• In Event: Court Communities and Work Group Dynamics

Abstract

The New York City Criminal Justice Agency (CJA) has been assisting the courts and the City since 1973 to reduce unnecessary pretrial detention by interviewing every defendant arraigned in New York City (approximately 350,000 defendants a year), and conducting a risk assessment of the likelihood of the defendant returning to court if released on recognizance. CJA’s recommendation and interview report is then presented to the court at the defendants’ arraignment hearing. In its updated risk assessment, CJA weighs various demographic, criminal history, and community tie factors in making its recommendation. This presentation outlines the extent of the work undertaken updating this risk assessment, the methodology used, the consultation with Court actors and stakeholders, as well as the details of the new point system used to recommend defendants to be released on their own recognizance and how this will affect the number of defendants being held pretrial in New York City.

Author

• Eoin Healy, NYC Criminal Justice Agency