PRETRIAL SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE

2004

The 2004 Fall IPCSA Conference in Chicago in some ways represented a milestone for the pretrial services profession in Illinois in that it was the first time that a pretrial-specific training workshop was organized for the benefit of pretrial professionals and practitioners.  The Honorable Judge Bruce Beaudin from Washington, D.C. presented his nationally-recognized “Pretrial 101” Workshop, which provided a basic understanding of the pretrial services movement, the history of bail and pretrial release, its constitutional and case-law underpinnings, and the purpose of bail.  It was a well-attended event and encourages more pretrial-related training will be a regular event at IPCSA Conferences.  We once again thank and appreciate the support of John Prinzi and Jim Grundel of AOIC in making this event a reality. 

The Committee met in July and at the fall conference.  Several items were discussed including defining a Pretrial Services Advisory Committee Mission Statement, developing a Pretrial Services link with the IPCSA website, and creating a pretrial-specific training and program survey to determine the training needs of pretrial practitioners.  In reference to pretrial training, the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies (NAPSA) is developing a pretrial services certification program (Project Certification) which not only will “certify” individuals based on their level of knowledge and expertise of the pretrial services profession, but in effect can be viewed as a training and education opportunity.  (See NAPSA’s website, www.napsa.org, for more information.)  Committee members that were present also were introduced to Dave Hitchcock who was recently transferred to AOIC’s Probation Services Division and will be taking over for John Prinzi.  One of Dave’s goals is to work with the various pretrial programs in the state and to identify staff development needs, including training that is specifically related to the needs of pretrial practitioners.  Dave works out of the Springfield office and can be contacted by phone at 217-785-3489.

As you can see, a lot is happening with the Pretrial Services Committee and if you are interested in becoming a member of the or just want to get involved to some extent or offer your input, please contact Anita Mendenhall by email at (amendenhall@probation.co.macon.il.us) or Keith Cooprider at (kcooprider@co.lake.il.us).   Pretrial Services programs and practitioners need to coalesce and network with each other so we can become a vital dynamic in the practice of criminal justice in Illinois.  One way of becoming involved in the future growth, development, and enhancement of pretrial services in Illinois is to participate in IPCSA and the Committee also encourages the professional pretrial officer to think about looking into NAPSA membership. They have great, informative conferences and you have the opportunity to learn what other, out-of-state programs are doing.