County looks to enhance pretrial system

Thurston County officially launched the Public Safety Assessment (PSA), a validated pretrial risk assessment tool to enhance the pretrial justice system.

This milestone follows more than four years of dedicated efforts to prioritize community well-being, reduce bias, and ensure that pretrial detention is only given to individuals who pose a threat to public safety.

The PSA will provide research-based information to assist judicial officers, prosecutors, and defense counsel in making informed pretrial decisions while maintaining the discretion of judicial officers in determining detention, release, and conditions of release.

“The U.S. Supreme Court says that during the pretrial period,” the county press release quoted, “personal liberty is the norm and detention before trial is the carefully limited exception.

The implementation of the PSA is part of Thurston County’s participation in the national Advancing Pretrial Policy and Research (APPR) initiative, which seeks to advance fair, just, and effective pretrial justice practices across the United States.

This collaborative project involved input from justice experts, researchers, and local justice system stakeholders, including Pretrial Services, Public Defense, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, District and Superior Courts, Judges, the Sheriff’s Office, local law enforcement, and the Board of County Commissioners.

The pretrial period is crucial in the United States, as everyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Judicial officers must follow constitutional and court rules when deciding on conditions for individuals awaiting case resolution.

Pretrial detention is considered an exception. Officers can make their own decisions during this period.

The PSA is a nationally validated pretrial risk assessment tool that has been rigorously tested on the Thurston County population.

Researchers at RTI International ensured that the tool provides valid estimates of pretrial outcomes, including court appearances, new arrests, and new violent arrests.

Thurston County claims the validation process demonstrated no predictive bias based on race or gender.

The PSA does not make decisions but offers decision-makers valuable insights into how individuals with similar profiles have fared on pretrial release.

Judicial officers must apply the law and consider evidence such as criminal history, the nature of the current charge, and input from the prosecutor and defense counsel when making pretrial decisions.

Using the PSA aims to improve the transparency and consistency of pretrial decisions.

Similar implementations in other jurisdictions have led to higher release rates and reduced reliance on financial conditions, all without negatively impacting crime rates or court appearance rates.

For more information about Thurston County’s pretrial work and the APPR initiatives, visit their website.