Interviews and Database

Our key deliverables are our interview summary document and our database.

Our interview summary condenses our 38 interviews into one overall picture of trends and themes from our interviews.

Our database is a spreadsheet that details all of the jurisdictions for which we have data from all of the aforementioned sources.

Email us at info@pretrialrisk.com with your name and affiliation and we will email you back with the link to our interview summary document and database.

Interview Summary

We conducted 38 interviews with jurisdictions all over the country.

Each interview asked which tool a jurisdiction used, and also how the results of the tool interacted with the pretrial process, if the tool was locally validated, and how it impacted the demographics of their pretrial population. We utilized a set of 27 questions in our interviews with jurisdictions.

Download a summary of our interviews here. If you want to view the details of a particular interview, please contact us and specify the interview you want to learn more about or see.

Database

Through our research, we built a database of over 300 jurisdictions, including both state jurisdictions and local, and the pretrial RATs they use.

This database includes detailed information about where and how pretrial RATs are used.

The main page of the spreadsheet is a comprehensive overview of each jurisdiction and includes:

  • The name of the jurisdiction and whether it is a county, state, or city
  • The tool in use in the jurisdiction
  • The developer of the tool
  • Variables weighted in the tool
  • Whether the tool produces combined or separate scores to predict risk
  • The tool’s results and scoring system
  • How the tool defines recidivism
  • State laws permitting the use of an assessment
  • Area under the curve scores and dates of validation reports
  • Sources for the information above

Further sheets in the database spreadsheet include:

  • Glossary of key terms
  • Comprehensive descriptions of each tool
  • A list of the jurisdictions we found using each tool
  • A listing of all the tools we found used in each state
  • The most popular tools (PSA, VPRAI, VPRAI-R, ORAS-PAT, and COMPAS) and the population of those areas using each of these tools, showing their potential reach and impact

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.

 

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