Communicating about Pretrial Justice Reforms: Key Resources
The following resources provide court leaders with detailed guidelines, talking points, and templates for communicating with the media about pretrial justice reform.
- Pretrial Justice Institute (2017). Media toolkit for partners.
This toolkit includes a message guide with talking points and forms, templates, and protocols for interacting with the media.
- Pretrial Justice Institute (2014). Effective pretrial justice communication: Guidelines for champions & spokespeople.
To support the work of local champions and spokespeople of pretrial justice reforms, this report offers general guidelines and talking points for use with different audiences.
Public Opinion on Pretrial Justice Reforms: Key Resources
The following resources provide information about the results of recent public opinion polls on issues related to pretrial justice reform.
- RTI International and Zogby Analytics (2018, February 13). Public Opinion Poll Findings on Jails and Local Justice Systems.
This nationwide poll on perceptions of jails found that the majority of respondents believed the role of jails should be for treatment and rehabilitation, not punishment, particularly if the offense involved was non-violent. The poll also showed that respondents familiar with pretrial services supported their use.
- Lake, C. (2014, June 12). Analysis of findings from a survey of 2,233 likely 2016 general election voters nationwide.
The above presentation by Celinda Lake, President of Lake Research Partners, reports on findings from a nationwide 2012 public opinion poll. The presentation slides describe the methodology used, summarizes poll findings on issues such as the nature of public support for a risk-based approach to pretrial release in lieu of cash bail and the qualities of risk assessment that appeal to the public, and offers research-informed recommendations on how to communicate effectively with the public about pretrial justice reforms.
- National Association of Counties (2012, October 4). Communicating the need for pretrial justice reform.
The National Association of Counties (NACo) hosted an educational webinar on October 4, 2012, featuring contributions by Cherise Fanno Burdeen, Chief Operating Officer of the Pretrial Justice Institute; Daniel Gotoff, partner with Lake Research Partners; and Stan Hilkey, elected sheriff of Mesa County, CO. The webpage above links to the presentation slides, which contain more detailed information from the 2012 Lake Research Partners public opinion poll.
- Murray, T. (2015, January 27). The 2015 state of pretrial justice.
This presentation by Tim Murray, Director Emeritus of the Pretrial Justice Institute, includes additional summary findings from the 2012 Lake Research Partners public opinion poll.