Pretrial Risk Assessment Tool Developed for Alaska

Abstract

Beginning January 1, 2018, judicial officers, defense attorneys, and prosecuting attorneys in all Alaska courts began to receive information from a new pretrial risk assessment tool that calculates whether a defendant is at low, moderate, or high risk for failure to appear at trial or to commit another crime if the defendant is released pretrial. The tool, incorporated in Alaska’s new bail statute, aids in the judicial officer’s decision regarding pretrial bail conditions. This article looks at risk assessment tools in general and describes the development of Alaska’s pretrial risk assessment tool.