In the United States, many jurisdictions are turning to pretrial risk assessment tools as an alternative to cash bail. More than 60 risk assessment tools are in use throughout the country today, at both the federal and state level and in multiple stages of a person’s process through the carceral system. In what follows, we analyze risk assessment tools for their claims of providing objective, empirical evidence to inform decisions around pretrial release and detention. We find serious concerns with their ability to generate accurate, valid, reliable, and unbiased outcomes and to address root...
