Pre-Trial Program

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

The San Bernardino County Pretrial Program was launched in June 30, 2022, in partnership with Superior Court of California, San Bernardino with the intent to promote the safe, efficient, fair, and timely pretrial release of individuals booked into jail. Funding for this program was made available through the State pursuant to Senate Bill 129 (2021). Program goals include identifying individuals booked into local county jails for non-serious or non-violent categories of crimes to be subsequently assessed using a research based pretrial assessment tool. The pretrial assessment outcomes and collateral information are provided to judicial officers prior to arraignment to assist in their pre-trial release decisions. Even though still in its infancy stages, the San Bernardino County Pretrial Program has assessed 2,376 individuals and their information provided to the Court for their review and assessment. Thus far through the end of 2022, three hundred (300) individuals have been released on the monitoring component of the Program, which focuses on both the protection of the community and assuring the defendants appear in court. The Pretrial Program monitoring component further aims to help people succeed while on pre-trial release.