The Dane County Community Justice Council (CJC) will learn the results of a multiyear study and research partnership with Harvard University–Law School’s Access to Justice Lab and invites the community to attend an upcoming special session.
In December 2016, Dane County began the implementation of the Public Safety Assessment (PSA). The assessment is intended to help judges gauge a defendant’s risk level if released while awaiting trial on a criminal charge. The PSA is used in a number of Wisconsin counties, as well as the entire states of Kentucky, Utah, and New Jersey.
Early in 2014, the Dane County CJC and pretrial leaders reviewed evidence-based pretrial practices nationwide, and concluded Dane County may have been missing a key component in the pretrial process: an accurate and validated risk assessment tool.
The CJC will host the researchers in a special session on Jan. 25 at 12:15 p.m. Access to Justice will review the findings of the multiyear study of the Dane County pretrial risk assessment and any changes in jail stays, racial equity, and fairness outcomes. The agenda and further event details can be accessed here.
