When a person is charged with a crime, bail refers to the money or bond that is secured in exchange for the person's promise to appear at all future court proceedings while residing in the community.
Making the determination of whether a person should remain in the community while awaiting trial is a critical one. What is the risk to the public, and what are the needs of the defendant? To help answer these questions, an instrument known as a Risk-Needs Assessment (RNA) is used. It can be calculated in paper form or through a computer algorithm.
Weighing the decision of a pretrial release by judicial officials is based on the following factors: age, sex, personality, prior criminal history, socioeconomic background, and current charge. A rating scale is used to calculate the level of risk based on the answers to the assessment questions. If an individual has a high score, he or she may be denied bail, whereas a low-risk individual may be released on his or her own recognizance (ROR). Of course, there is a wide spectrum of possibilities to consider when granting bail and the RNA is a tool that assists in this process.
To learn more about pretrial risk assessments, please visit the link below.
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