Criminal Justice Alternatives

The Pretrial Services/Monitoring Program provides pertinent information to the First Appearance District Court judge at the person's first appearance court hearing after being arrested and booked into the Wake County jail. The information includes prior criminal history, need for special conditions (e.g. no contact for domestic violence offenders, mental health history/needs, physical health history/needs) that are relevant for release considerations. Pretrial Services staff verifies the defendant's information with an uninvolved reference person suggested by the defendant. The Program allows certain defendants to be monitored in the community at minimal cost to the county, work to support themselves and their families while they are waiting for the Court case to be resolved.All offenders who are ordered to the Pretrial Release Program must report to their case manager on the next business day following their release from jail custody. The person is required to appear at all scheduled court dates, contact their assigned case manager (or designee) weekly on a specific day, and not be arrested for any additional charges. Additionally, they must comply with all pretrial release conditions ordered by the judge and keep the case manager informed of any changes of residence. Pretrial Services Program staff request revocation of pretrial release if the offender does not comply with the contact schedule or if the offender obtains new charges or violates any of the conditions set by the court while on pretrial release. Should any of the aforementioned situations arise, an order is written by the court and the defendant is rearrested and returned to the jail custody.

The Pretrial Services/Monitoring program provides electronic monitoring, including Continuous Alcohol Monitoring, Electronic Monitoring and Electronic House Arrest, in a manner that provides an enhanced level of safety for Wake County citizens and surrounding communities while safely reducing the Wake County jail population.