Pretrial release is an alternative to incarceration that allows arrested defendants to be released from jail while they await disposition of their criminal charges. Florida has 28 pretrial release programs, which are primarily locally funded. These programs supervise defendants charged with a wide range of crimes.
Most pretrial release programs have complied with requirements to provide annual reports and maintain weekly registers of information on the defendants in their programs. However, many programs' annual reports do not contain outcome data as required by statute. Further, the programs that have reported this data used different methods to compute those outcomes. As a result, statewide data are not available to compare outcomes across programs or to compare defendants in these programs to those released on bond or on their own recognizance.
Most programs report using best practices suggested by literature to help ensure that defendants appear in court and are not rearrested.
The Legislature could consider streamlining some reporting requirements to improve clarity and reduce administrative burdens on pretrial release programs.

Copies of this report in print or alternate accessible format may be obtained by email OPPAGA@oppaga.fl.gov, telephone (850) 488-0021, or mail 111 W. Madison St., Room 312 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1475.