Abstract
Pretrial release reform is an important component of justice reinvestment initiatives. However, little work has examined the implementation process or stakeholder perceptions of the implementation of a pretrial release program. In this study, we explore the perceptions and experiences of stakeholders in the criminal justice system in a county in Oregon by conducting interviews with judges, district attorney’s, defenders, and pretrial staff to assess their perceptions of the reform, including the county’s adoption of the Virginia Pretrial Risk Assessment Instrument (VPRAI). Our findings highlight four main themes, which we labeled Just Keep Them Out of System, The Tool Plus Experience, What Factors Are You Talking About, and Training Would Be Great. Stakeholders generally had positive perceptions of pretrial release but expressed concern about potential barriers to successful implementation, including the risk assessment tool used, the factors evaluated, and the need for training. This research highlights the importance of assessing stakeholder perceptions when implementing reform efforts.
Document Type
Original Research Article
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Number of Tables
1
Number of Words
10,035
Recommended Citation
Sanchez, S., & Strenio, J. (2022). Stakeholder Perceptions and Potential Barriers to Pretrial Release Reform. Journal of Restoration, Rehabilitation, and Reentry, 2022(1), 1-19. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.wou.edu/jr3/vol2022/iss1/1