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Prince William County to introduce tool to determine if person can be released before trial

The PSA scoring is entirely automated, leaving no room for human error, according to a news release.

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — Prince William County Criminal Justice Services team announced Thursday that it is ready to launch its Public Safety Assessment (PSA) tool. It is designed to determine whether a person charged with crimes can be released back into the community pending trial.

Prince William County will be one of five communities in Virginia to pilot the tool that uses nine scoring factors to help judges and judicial officers make release conditions. It is said to help ensure court appearance and public safety during the pretrial period for the person facing charges.

The factors include age, prior felony convictions, prior misdemeanor convictions, current violent offenses and prior failure to appear in court. This will be done with the use of background information and interviews that help answer those factors.

The PSA scoring is entirely automated, leaving no room for human error, according to a news release. However, the courts can take employment, a history of substance abuse, and mental health needs into account along with the assessment.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys will also have input on whether people should be released before their trial date. If released by a judge back into the community, the PSA will also determine the services needed to stay out of jail.

According to Prince William County Criminal Justice Services Director Steve Austin, the PSA's predictive success rates range from 85 to 89 percent among roughly 285 jurisdictions that use it. 

When a person is released pending their trial they have a better chance of keeping their jobs, maintaining family support, and keeping their housing, which also helps them make trial dates. It also can save money, as it costs less to supervise that person then to keep them in the Adult Detention Center.

To prepare for the launch there was two years of study, meetings, and workshops. “It took us two years because we took a thoughtful look at our pretrial justice system. We invited stakeholders to various meetings. We looked at data, and based on those conversations, we decided those areas that we wanted to work on to improve the system,” Austin said.

The PSA program is being piloted in Prince William County, along with Richmond, Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta. The program collects data and sends it to the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, which determine if the program should be used statewide. 

“We were chosen with the other jurisdictions in the state as pilot sites because of our work and our reputation as being leaders in the state,” Austin said. “What we’re doing is exciting and innovative. It’s creative, and it’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s hard work where we have gotten to collaborate, we’ve gotten to hear how other sides of the system see things.”

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