Adult Probation Pretrial Services Division

Pre-release operations are an important component of the initial appearance process. Individuals arrested for a felony offense and booked into the Cook County Jail will generally be brought to court for their initial appearance within 24 hours of arrest. Before this appearance, pre-release staff conduct the Public Safety Assessment (PSA) to determine an individual’s risk for failure to appear or for new criminal activity if they are released from custody. The PSA only considers the individual’s criminal history and the current charge to score them on these two areas of risk. The failure to appear scale is scored from 1 to 6, with 1 being minimal risk and 6 being elevated risk. The new criminal activity scale is also scored from 1 to 6, with 1 being minimal risk and 6 being elevated risk. A “violence flag” is also generated to indicate when an individual is at an elevated risk for a new violent offense upon release.

Pre-release staff also conduct a statutorily required interview of defendants that covers their living arrangements, employment or education status, and history of behavioral health treatment. The completed interview is combined with the PSA results and sent to the court, the State’s Attorney’s Office, and the defense counsel to help make decisions on conditions of release. Pre-release staff present the two risk scores and the violence flag to the court, along with a recommended mode of release. The recommendation is based on a decision-making framework that accounts for the two risk scores and the violence flag, as well as the severity of the current charge. Options for release include release without conditions, release with monitoring (court date reminders and arrest record checks), release with pretrial supervision, release to the Sheriff’s electronic monitoring program and maximum conditions if released.

The main goal of post-release operations is to use the least restrictive means possible to ensure defendants appear in court and avoid new criminal activity. Post-release operations are the supervising authority for defendants charged with felonies who have been granted pretrial release with a condition of supervision. A judge may order pretrial supervision during the initial appearance or at any subsequent appearance while a case is pending disposition. Individuals are not given a specific term of supervision; the judge may keep the individual on supervision until their case is disposed or they may remove supervision as a condition of release before disposition.

Post-release officers are responsible for monitoring conditions of release and reporting back to the court on compliance and progress. Individuals are responsible for reporting to their assigned officer over the phone and in-person, with the frequency of contact determined by their PSA risk level. Pretrial officers also conduct regular criminal history checks to determine if an individual has had further contact with law enforcement, verify employment or education, and provide court date reminders for scheduled hearings. Individuals who express a desire for behavioral health treatment, housing support or other needs may receive a referral and support from their assigned officer.

Conditions of release may include:

• Reporting to a probation officer
• Avoiding certain people, businesses or places
• Not possessing a firearm or dangerous weapon
• Electronic monitoring of curfew hours
• Electronic monitoring of 24-hour home detention
• Participation in external programming
• Drug testing

Defendants ordered to a curfew or 24-hour home detention may be placed on electronic monitoring (EM). EM involves wearing a device around an ankle that monitors compliance with conditions of release. Adult Probation uses two types of devices for EM, depending on the circumstances of the case or an individual's living arrangements.

GPS devices are used to monitor defendants charged with certain offenses involving intimate partners, like domestic battery, stalking and harassment. These devices allow the department to create an "exclusion zone" around a protected area, and will alert the department if the device is detected within that area. Some curfews are also monitored with an "inclusion zone" that alerts the department if a device is not detected within a designated area during curfew hours.

Radio Frequency (RF) devices are used to monitor curfew hours. These devices communicate with a base station installed in a residence that will alert the department if the device is not detected during curfew hours. Curfews may also be monitored with a GPS device, using an "inclusion zone" to ensure an individual remains in their residence during curfew hours.

Learn more about EM