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Oregon outlines statewide pretrial program, assessment tool and data plans
Summary
The Judicial Department described rollout of pretrial guidelines, a statewide case management system and an Oregon pretrial assessment tool intended to shift release decisions from money to risk assessment.
Court officials told the Public Safety Subcommittee that, since passage of legislation in 2021, Oregon has developed statewide pretrial guidelines, hired a pretrial coordinator and deployed a case management system to standardize data and monitoring of pretrial release.
Nancy Kozine, State Court Administrator, said the Chief Justice’s guidelines (directed by Senate Bill 48, 2021) emphasize consistent decision‑making, reduced reliance on security, victim notification, and monitoring. Kozine said the department recruited release assistance officers for each jurisdiction and in 2023 deployed a statewide pretrial case management system to improve data collection and program transparency.
Kozine described an Oregon pretrial assessment tool built with the Criminal Justice Commission and Portland State University researchers that will produce three scores: likelihood to appear, likelihood of new criminal activity, and likelihood of a person crime. She said the tool and data integrations with local jails will support House Bill 2935 (pending) work by the Criminal Justice Commission.
The department emphasized training for judges and staff on the assessment tool and noted alignment with National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies (NAPSA) best practices that favor risk‑based decisions and active supervision. "These guidelines must include victim notification and input while balancing defendant's rights and the presumption of release," Kozine said.
Ending
Officials asked the subcommittee to support data and technology work that will enable standardized pretrial reporting and to consider the incoming Criminal Justice Commission study when assessing related budget items in HB 5012.
