ABOUT US

The pretrial stage is a critical juncture in the larger criminal justice process; whether or not someone gets out of custody after arrest is a major determinant of the ultimate outcome of the case, as those who remain in jail are more likely to face a conviction than those who are released. In addition, the presumption of innocence and constitutional protections against excessive bail are two of our most foundational legal principles. Despite these facts, and against the backdrop of mass incarceration nationwide, jail populations in San Francisco and across the country are disproportionately composed of pretrial individuals.

We work to address this critical issue by providing alternatives to pretrial incarceration. By doing so, the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project does its part to prevent unjust harm and unnecessary incarceration. Rather than languishing behind bars, newly arrested people can be released to our services to receive care, support, case management, and referrals to outside treatment providers. Our services are diverse and wide-ranging in recognition of the many needs that justice-involved people may have. Further, San Francisco has been the seat of new bail reform initiatives in California, which has afforded us the opportunity to continue to grow and build on our 45 years of experience overseeing pretrial services in the City and County.

SUMMARY

The Assistant OR Manager primary responsibility is to provide support to the OR Manager to effectively supervise and manage the department. The Own Recognizance “OR” team facilitates the probable cause determination and release of eligible pretrial defendants through the dissemination of criminal history summaries, incident reports, and risk assessment findings to judicial staff. This department is responsible for gathering relevant client documentation, screening jail bookings for eligibility determination, and completing the Public Safety Assessment (PSA) through the summarization of records of arrest and prosecution. The Own Recognizance department will monitor clients requiring no or minimum supervision through the use of court reminders, phone check-ins, and progress reports. Lastly, the department serves as a point of contact for criminal justice stakeholders, external partners, and attorneys.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Assist and provide backup support to supervised staff in the completion of their duties
• Able to provide additional oversight or coverage for daily operations of the program when needed;
• Coordinate trainings either through the Training and Development department or assignment of PRS2 shadowing;
• Delegate work duties or assignment;
• Schedule adequate coverage of the department when staff are out sick or on PTO;
• Regularly review, audit and provide feedback to PRS1 and PRS2 work product;
• Serve as liaison between the duty judge and local law enforcement agencies in requests for own recognizance release;
• Serve as a resource to SF Pretrial colleagues by assisting to clarify or investigate specific court instructions or issues on case matters;
• Problem-solve as situations arise, including communicating with necessary stakeholders and using independent discretion and judgment to find solutions;
• Regularly exercise independent discretion and judgment;
• Perform employee evaluations;
• Help develop or update new or existing program policies
• Perform other duties as directed, developed or assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

Pretrial Release Specialist I and Pretrial Release Specialist II