Pretrial Services Act Turning 30

The Pretrial Services Act, which authorized federal judicial districts nationwide to establish pretrial services offices, will turn 30 in 2012.

The first federal pretrial services officers were part of a pilot program authorized by the Speedy Trial Act of 1974, and Congress in the fall of 1982 enacted the law that allowed all judicial districts to provide such vital services.

In the intervening decades, the core responsibilities of pretrial services officers have remained constant: identifying and addressing the risks of a criminal defendant’s flight and the risks of danger to the community if that defendant is released pending trial.

Since passage of the Pretrial Services Act, only 2.33 percent of the more than 1.6 million cases handled have resulted in a released defendant’s failure to appear for trial or a released defendant being re-arrested. That rate was 2.6 percent in fiscal year 2000, but fell to 1.3 percent in FY 2011, the 12-month period ending September 30, 2011.