Code of Ethics
As a pretrial services professional we will:
- Assist the criminal justice system in its dealings with pretrial defendants to the best of our ability and conduct ourselves as professionals at all times;
- Respect the dignity of the individual, be they defendants, victims, or fellow criminal justice professionals;
- Respect the dignity and integrity of the court;
- Respect the presumption of innocence of all defendants, until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and to uphold the fundamental right of every accused person who has been arrested and is facing prosecution under the U.S. criminal justice system;
- Pledge that the information we provide to the court and the decisions we make are as accurate and objective as possible;
- Treat all people equally regardless of race, national origin, disability, age, gender, sexual orientation or religion;
- Protect the confidentiality of all information obtained, except when necessary to prevent serious, foreseeable, and/or imminent harm to a defendant or other identifiable person(s);
- Avoid impropriety or the appearance of impropriety;
- Avoid any conflicts of interest and will not evaluate, supervise and/or provide services to anyone we have an existing relationship with, nor enter into a personal or business relationship with anyone we evaluate, supervise or provide services to;
- Continue to pursue my own professional development and education to further my expertise in the field;
- Promote the growth of pretrial services, as well as encourage and cooperate with research and development in advancing the field;
- Respect and promote the fundamental principles and professional standards which guide pretrial services and will implement those best practices to the extent we are able; by not providing legal advice to any pretrial defendants; and lastly;
- Promise to conduct ourselves as individuals of good character who will act in good faith in making reliable ethical decisions.