Release Authority

“Delegated release authority” refers to the authority given to officials of the pretrial services program to release defendants charged with specific offenses before the defendant appears before a judicial officer for the initial court appearance.  The authority is typically permitted by statute and then granted by judicial order. 

Survey of Pretrial Programs Series:  Release Authority

PJI has recently released the fourth national survey of pretrial services programs. Previous surveys were conducted in 1979, 1989, and 2001.

Listed below are the findings relating to the authority of pretrial services programs to release defendants.

Many jail facilities in the United States face crowding and house more inmates than their rated capacity allows.  A large portion of a jail’s population consists of defendants that have been committed awaiting trial.  In an effort to reduce or eliminate unnecessary confinement, some pretrial programs have court-delegated authority to release certain defendants.  NAPSA Standard 1.9 provides programs with a framework for pretrial programs to provide this service.  Delegated release authority is usually used for minor crimes and for defendants that are assessed to show no risk of danger or failure to appear in court. 

Results from the 2008 survey show that the number of programs that have the authority to release defendants continues to drop.  In 1979, 42 percent of programs reported having delegated release authority.  Forty one percent had such authority in the 1989 survey and 21 percent in 1989.  Only 14 percent reported having delegated release authority in the 2008 survey. 

This section contains the specific chapters of each set of standards related to this topic, documents submitted by programs as examples, related publications, and results from PJI’s Survey of Pretrial Programs series.