John Pfaff was quoted in an NBC News article about bail reform in the United States.
There are dozens of risk assessment tools in use today, developed by universities, governments, private companies and nonprofit agencies. They are used at various points of the criminal justice system, from pretrial to sentencing to parole. (Apart from bail reform, New Jersey recently began using a risk assessment tool that measures whether someone accused of domestic violence is likely to assault an intimate partner in the future.)
The Public Safety Assessment, created by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, has been adopted by Kentucky, Arizona and more than two dozen local jurisdictions, but none to the extent of New Jersey.
Proponents of the tools argue that relying on empirical evidence is far better than leaving it exclusively to judges. They acknowledge that poorly crafted tools can perpetuate bias, a problem that can be overcome through rigorous testing.
“Both models are imperfect, but which is less imperfect?” asked John Pfaff, who teaches criminal law at Fordham University. “You might be able to fix the model faster than you can fix a judge.”