NYC Criminal Justice Agency

The New York City Criminal Justice Agency, Inc. (CJA), established in 1973 as the Pretrial Services Agency is a private non-profit corporation serving the City's criminal justice system by providing pretrial and research services. CJA's core services were pioneered by the Vera Institute of Justice's Manhattan Bail Project, which tested and demonstrated the link between strong community ties and the likelihood that defendants released on their own recognizance would retrun to court.

CJA pursues its goal of servicing the criminal justice system in the following ways: decreasing the number of days spent in detention by criminal defendants; screening defendants for a range of non-custodial sanctions; reducing the rate of non-appearance in court among defendants released from detention and awaiting trial; and providing information and research services to criminal justice policy makers, City officials, and the public.