Training
The Pretrial Justice Institute provides training opportunities for professionals in the pretrial justice system throughout the U.S. and its territories. We design our trainings to create practical, long-term improvements in pretrial release programs and release decisions. In some cases, technical assistance can be included to provide support and coaching during implementation.
Current Offerings:
Requests to this category seek training on pretrial justice for judges, prosecutors, defenders, staff with pretrial release or diversion responsibilities, or county officials. Priority will be given to training requests for at least 12 appropriate participants, available for a minimum of six hours of training (an 8‐hour day), no‐cost meeting space, and reproduction of PJI‐provided materials for participants. Priority will also be given to training of system‐wide stakeholders, staff from multiple jurisdictions (regional training), or state‐wide training opportunities provided they allow for at least 4 hours of instruction, provide no‐cost meeting space and reproduction of PJI‐provided materials for participants. All regional and local training will involved a pre/post test for participants as a requirement of the training. To apply for training click HERE.
Research shows that people who are held before trial are much more likely to plead guilty than similar individuals who have been released pending court action. Despite the lasting effects of the judicial decision made at the first appearance or bail-setting hearing on the outcome of the case, usually the least experienced judges are assigned to bail-setting court. They have only a few seconds to make a decision for each case. Until last year, no state-specific training existed for judges on pretrial release laws, administrative codes and methods for implementing them.
This interactive workshop, which was successfully piloted in 2007, examines: state laws, court rules and administrative codes; national standards and best practices in pretrial justice; steps to implement them; potential responses to constituents and the bail bonding community; and use of pretrial service programming to determine the best options at the pretrial stage.
The course is designed in modules and can range from 90 minutes to 3 hours. A companion piece for pretrial services staff, to be conducted the same day, is also available. Interested sites are encouraged to contact us via Ask a Question.
Professional pretrial services standards call for the universal screening of all those arrested before a bail decision is made. The information gathered during the pretrial interview is the most critical information before the judge when making a bail setting decision. This course allows staff to learn and practice effective interviewing techniques. The course covers the purpose of the pretrial interview, the advantages of interviewing over self-administered questionnaires, barriers to interviewing, communication theory, interviewer validity and reliability and how to detect and correct for deception.
The course is designed in modules and can range from 90 minutes to 3 hours. Interested sites are encouraged to contact us via Ask a Question.
This course is a two-day “nuts and bolts” training to strengthen supervisors’ ability to improve pretrial release program performance. The course covers:
- An overview of the definitions of supervision, management and transformational leadership
- Identification of roles and responsibilities
- Elements to building productive working relationships
- Establishing a culture with performance management accountability
- Ways in which supervisors can affect the culture
- Effective and ineffective leadership characteristics
- The differences between supervising and leading
How effective supervisors drive individual and organizational performance
- Goal-setting and its relationship to performance
- Collaborative Conversations” and a supervisor’s responsibility to coach employees
Course participants complete a self-assessment of leadership competencies and learn how to strengthen their level of competency in each area. The course includes a series of activities that culminate in the creation of an action plan, which supervisors can use post-training to implement the concepts and practices learned throughout the two days. The course includes role playing, small and large group work, and case studies based on participants’ real-life experiences. In group discussions, participants engage in peer learning, analyzing scenarios that pose potential problems and devising solutions together. After the course, Pretrial Justice Institute staff stays on-site for a half-day to meet with any supervisors and provide one-on-one coaching on their action plans. Interested sites are encouraged to contact us via Ask a Question.
This course provides an overview of the use of bail in the U.S. criminal justice system, adapted for tribal justice systems. The goal of this presentation is to enable tribal justice leaders and others to understand why bail and its applications have formed as they have. The course also explores the theories of fundamental fairness that support the existence of bail in a free society. Attendees will engage in a debate over the tensions between the presumption of innocence and the right to bail vis-à-vis community safety and the obligation of the accused to answer for antisocial behavior. The session consists of some lecture, plenty of interaction between presenters and participants and opportunities to experiment with various facets of bail in realistic situations. The course is designed in modules and can range from 90 minutes to 3 hours. Interested sites are encouraged to contact us via Ask a Question.
Readiness to Implement Evidence Based Practices
The two day training program, Readiness to Implement Evidence Based Practices, offers assessments for federal pretrial services offices on their readiness to implement evidence-based practices. These organizational assessments stem from the US Probation and Pretrial Services’ Research 2 Results (R2R) demonstration project, and will help offices determine what they need to do to implement evidence-based practice successfully. The assessments, which are tailored to each jurisdiction’s needs, will include: an analysis of operational trends, a comparison with national standards and best practices and a training session to begin to address the gaps. PJI has already completed assessment, training and recommendation projects for two of the three federal offices participating in the R2R project. Interested sites are encouraged to contact Tim Murray at Ask A Question.
Pretrial 101
An expanded and formalized version of the annual NAPSA workshop, this new version provides and education in the basic and traditional underpinnings of bail in the criminal justice system. Through a combination of historical, statutory, and Constitutional references, national standards, and best practices, participants will be poised to enter the debates over the thorny problems presented to society by the tensions between the presumption of innocence and the right to bail on the one hand and the safety of the community and preservation of an obligation of the accused to answer for antisocial behavior on the other. The workshop has some lecture, but plenty of interaction between the presenters and the participants, and an opportunity to experiment with various facets of bail in realistic situations. The goals of this workshop are to enable participants to understand how bail and its applications in certain cases and jurisdictions have formed, as well as educate on how to interpret for others the basic theories of fundamental fairness that support the existence of bail in a free society.
The course is designed in modules and can range from 90 minutes to 3 hours. A companion piece for judicial officers, to be conducted the same day, is also available. Interested sites are encouraged to contact us via Ask a Question.
View a preview of Pretrial 101 here.