Publications

NAPSA’s resources equips pretrial professionals with the knowledge and tools to strengthen practice and improve outcomes. Covering topics from survivor-centered justice to accreditation, leadership, supervision, and the latest Pretrial Standards, each session delivers research-based guidance and practical strategies. Together, they provide a roadmap for advancing fairness, accountability, and excellence in the pretrial field.

NAPSA Standards on Pretrial Release, 2024 Edition 

The NAPSA has published its revised 2024 Edition of the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies’ (NAPSA) Standards on Pretrial Release continues the mandate of previous Editions—to describe the components of an effective, legal, and evidence-based bail system. It also updates the Standards with the developing body of knowledge about best and promising practices in the pretrial field and changes to the legal definition of and the requirements for fair and reasonable bail decision-making. Revisions from past editions include: strengthening NAPSA’s support of independent pretrial services agencies, the use of validated pretrial outcome assessments, supervision conditions individualized to specific and identifiable risk factors, and the abolition of financial conditions of bail. You can find the 2024 Standards here. 

First Step Forward:

Transforming the Pretrial Period from Compliance to Support

Published by Justice System Partners in September 2025, the First Step Forward outlines a support-oriented pretrial framework to provide courtroom partners with guidance on how to create the fewest barriers for people to attend court and more effectively support individuals navigating the pretrial period. JSP organizes this framework into five guiding principles to promote a support-centric orientation during the pretrial period: 1) Release individuals exclusively on recognizance pre-arraignment as often and as soon as possible, 2) Create intentional access to defense attorneys prearraignment and at initial appearances, 3) Rely on the least expensive and least restrictive pretrial release conditions possible 4) Reimagine pretrial supervision agencies as pretrial support services, 5) Create a support-oriented court ecosystem focused on enhancing fairness. You can find this new resource here. 

Pretrial Assessments -

Bias & Disparities?:

Staying Grounded in Research

The National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies  (NAPSA) has been carefully following claims about disparities and bias related to actuarial pretrial assessments. As the debate continues, NAPSA has noted the dust settling around a large body of research, providing clarity to this polarizing topic. We have always been advocates of pretrial research and have encouraged the exploration of pretrial outcomes for decades. NAPSA continues to promote and encourage research on pretrial assessment validity and potential disparities and bias. We believe that the evidence itself should lead this debate and must be controlled by rational, objective analyses. Click here to download the full pdf of the publication. 

Freedom Denied: How the Culture of Detention Created a

Federal Jailing Crisis Needs

CHICAGO (December 7, 2022) The Federal Criminal Justice Clinic (FCJC) at the University of Chicago Law School today announced the release of the first national investigation of federal pretrial detention, Freedom Denied: How the Culture of Detention Created a Federal Jailing Crisis. The report identifies a “federal jailing crisis” that disproportionately impacts poor people of color. Freedom Denied is authored and researched by Professor Alison Siegler, former Federal Defender and current Founding Director of the Federal Criminal Justice Clinic and Clinical Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School. "This work is about bringing to light a ‘culture of detention’ that exists in the federal legal system and helping judges to realign their practices so that justice-involved individuals do not face illegal and inequitable detention.” Click here to view complete document. 

Factsheet: Identifying and Addressing Pretrial Needs

Through the investigation of four critical questions, this fact sheet summarizes the existing research regarding the needs of people going through the pretrial process, including their commonly identified needs, how their needs differ across subgroups, and the role of the pretrial system in addressing these needs. In addition, this fact sheet identifies salient gaps in knowledge and outlines new directions for the pretrial field. Click to download the full pdf of the factsheet here.

New Diversion Resources 

Diversion 101, is a series of articles that offers a new framework for understanding diversion. Developed by the Center for Effective Public Policy in partnership with the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies, Diversion 101 advances the foundational work done in the field of diversion to date and offers a roadmap for planning, implementing, and sustaining research-based diversionary options. Funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the series examines pre-conviction diversion options, provides clarity around their purposes, proposes guiding principals, and explores their public safety and other benefits. You can find the new articles here.