Durham County, NC

Action Areas Pretrial Services

Last Updated

Background & Approach

Durham County, North Carolina, encompasses the city and county of Durham. In June 2017, the county established a court date reminder service to prevent failure-to-appear warrants and arrests. With this innovation, people facing criminal court charges now receive a computer-generated text, email, or telephone call regarding their scheduled court dates. Through the Pretrial Improvement Committee, court and county leaders collaborated on implementing a Pretrial Assessment Tool, which was in use by July 2020. The scientifically-backed Pretrial Assessment Tool is part of a systematic approach for recommending release and community supervision for people who do not pose a risk to the community while they wait for trial.

Durham County continues to engage with the Safety and Justice Challenge Network to rethink and redesign its criminal justice system so that it is more fair, just, and equitable for all.

Lead Agency

Criminal Justice Resource Center

Contact Information

Gudrun Parmer

Partners

Durham County Courts, Office of the Sheriff, Durham County's Information Services and Technology

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