Durham County

Compassion & Innovation At Work

Durham County’s Pretrial Services was established in 2006 to create a systematic approach for recommending release and community supervision for defendants who do not pose a risk to the community as they await trial.

The program was created with the goal of reducing the jail population while ensuring that defendants appear for their court dates and are not a public safety risk while under pretrial release.

Pretrial Services consists of two components: First Appearance and Pretrial Release and Supervision.

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First Appearance

The release or detention of each defendant is determined by a judge at first appearance, and at this time bond amounts are reviewed.

Pretrial Services worked with an advisory committee in 2019 to improve the first appearance decision-making process.  Part of this improvement was the implementation of a locally designed Public Safety Assessment (PSA) that follows the Arnold Venture Public Safety Assessment Model. The pretrial staff prepares a comprehensive report for all defendants scheduled for the first appearance. The report includes a complete criminal history and a public safety assessment with a recommended supervision level.

Defendants scheduled for the first appearance who are willing and accessible are interviewed to provide the court with stability factors, community ties, mental health history, and substance use disorder concerns. The judge then considers these factors when making a decision regarding a bond.

Pretrial Release and Supervision

Pretrial Supervision includes office and/or field contacts as deemed appropriate and referrals for services on an individual basis, or as ordered by the court.  Supervision levels and conditions of release are determined by the court upon review of the charge allegations, criminal history, the public safety assessment's suggested risk level,  community ties, and mental health or substance abuse concerns identified during first appearance screening.

One essential component of pretrial supervision is electronic monitoring for a small number of identified criminal defendants released from the Durham County Detention Center as an alternative to incarceration pretrial. Defendants are assigned to electronic monitoring by a judge and the length of electronic monitoring lasts until case disposition or until the court has determined the defendant has exhibited compliance with court orders and demonstrated to the court that they pose a lower risk to the community.