1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2009, currently in the field
From 1988 through 2009, the National Pretrial Reporting Program (NPRP) and State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) collected and reported on court processing data for felony cases in a sample of the 75 most populous counties. The program prospectively tracked felony defendants from charging by the prosecutor until disposition of their cases (a maximum of 12 months for nonmurder cases and 24 months for murder cases). Data were obtained on demographic characteristics, arrest charges, criminal justice status at time of arrest, prior arrests and convictions, pretrial release and detention, court appearance record, rearrests while on pretrial release, type and outcome of adjudication, and type and length of sentence.
BJS issued a data advisory on the State Court Processing Statistics Data Limitations. The advisory describes limitations of the data collection that must be considered when analyzing SCPS data, drawing any conclusions based on the data, and citing BJS reports.
In 2021, BJS relaunched the National Pretrial Reporting Program. The new NPRP will collect data from courts, jails, and pretrial service agencies in a sample of the 200 most populous counties, with a focus on pretrial release and detention. The new NPRP seeks to collect national data on the pretrial process and to answer basic questions such as the number of, demographics of, and charges associated with defendants detained versus those released. The new NPRP is currently in the field and expected to conclude in late 2024.
Please check this page for project updates.