The National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies, NAPSA, is the national professional association for the pretrial release and pretrial diversion fields.
Incorporated in 1973 in the District of Columbia as a not-for-profit corporation, the goals of the Association are expressed succinctly in Article II of its Articles of Incorporation:
- to serve as a national forum for ideas and issues in the area of pretrial services;
- to promote the establishment of agencies to provide such services;
- to encourage responsibility among its members;
- to promote research and development in the field;
- to establish a mechanism for exchange of information; and
- to increase professional competence through the development of professional standards and education.
NAPSA consists primarily of pretrial practitioners; however, others interested in pretrial issues such as judges, lawyers, researchers, and prosecutors, comprise its five-hundred plus membership from forty-four states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
