Policies and Practices of Implementation

Pretrial RATs fold into the existing frameworks of the criminal legal systems of each city, county, or state in which they are used.

Depending on location, pretrial RATs may interact with the existing bail systems or largely replace them. RATs often impact the amount of bail set, depending on the risk level assigned to the accused person who is evaluated.

In many places with jail overcrowding, decision-makers turn towards electronic monitoring,¹ or e-carceration², as a means of removing people from the physical jail but still keeping a close watch on them. In some places, mid- to high-risk levels from RATs lead to recommendations for electronic monitoring as a condition of supervised pretrial release.

Read the following subsections to learn more about policies, bail, and e-carceration.

Disclaimer:

Movement Alliance Project and MediaJustice created this site as a tool to support organizers and movements seeking to end pretrial detention and pretrial punishment. We think organizers need to pay close attention to exactly how these tools are used, and approach risk assessment with skepticism when it is presented as a solution to pretrial incarceration.

Our research was conducted by a team of organizers, interns, researchers, and local activists. We relied on internet searching, communication with public officials and bureaucrats, and publicly available Freedom of Information Act requests.

We do not expect our data to be perfect. We did NOT get a snapshot of every single tool in use across the country, and our data could have gaps or be wrong in some places.

Check out our full purpose and caveats and methodology for more information on how we conducted our research.

If you see a gap or correction in our information, please contact us.