Overview

NYC Criminal Justice Agency is the city’s only pretrial agency, conducting interviews, data collection, and public reporting to support fair and efficient pretrial decisions. It works by interviewing defendants before trials to gather information about their circumstances and sharing analyzed data with decision-makers to guide release and supervision, while also operating the city’s hot-line and providing services to defendants and their families. It stands out because it combines research, data sharing, hotline support, and direct services in one agency, rather than focusing on a single function. Its goal is to reduce unnecessary detention, speed defendants’ return to families and communities, and improve fairness in the pretrial process.