Pretrial Services

Program Details

Hamilton County Pretrial Release Program was established to improve the pretrial release practices of Hamilton County and to promote the goals stated by the Indiana Supreme Court, specifically to:

• reduce pretrial detention expenses for local jails; 
• enable many arrestees to return to their jobs and provide support for their families;
• eliminate the unfair and often protracted incarceration of poor people who don't have the resources to purchase a bail bond or pay a bail deposit; 
• enhance the reliability of guilty pleas; 
• and realize the benefits of reduced recidivism and enhanced public safety that flow from the use of evidence-based risk assessment tools for pretrial release decisions.

The Program operates under the authority of the Circuit and Superior courts of Hamilton County with day to day operations supervised by its Director who shall report to the judges of those courts.  

The purpose of the Program shall be to assess the risk posed by the release of each arrestee booked into the Hamilton County jail on a criminal charge, and to supervise those that are released under the authority of the Program.  

Pretrial Program Goals

• Maximize Release
• Maximize Court Appearance
• Maximize Public Safety