Virginia § 19.2-152.4:3 - Duties and responsibilities of local pretrial services officers

§ 19.2-152.4:3. Duties and responsibilities of local pretrial services officers

A. Each local pretrial services officer, for the jurisdictions served, shall:

1. Investigate and interview defendants arrested on state and local warrants and who are detained in jails located in jurisdictions served by the agency while awaiting a hearing before any court that is considering or reconsidering bail, at initial appearance, advisement or arraignment, or at other subsequent hearings;

2. Present a pretrial investigation report with recommendations to assist courts in discharging their duties related to granting or reconsidering bail;

3. Supervise and assist all defendants residing within the jurisdictions served and placed on pretrial supervision by any judicial officer within the jurisdictions to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of bail;

4. Conduct random drug and alcohol tests on any defendant under supervision for whom a judicial officer has ordered testing or who has been required to refrain from excessive use of alcohol or use of any illegal drug or controlled substance or other defendant-specific condition of bail related to alcohol or substance abuse;

5. Seek a capias from any judicial officer pursuant to § 19.2-152.4:1 for any defendant placed under supervision or the custody of the agency who fails to comply with the conditions of bail or supervision, when continued liberty or noncompliance presents a risk of flight, a risk to public safety or risk to the defendant;

6. Seek an order to show cause why the defendant should not be required to appear before the court in those cases requiring a subsequent hearing before the court;

7. Provide defendant-based information to assist any law-enforcement officer with the return to custody of defendants placed on supervision for which a capias has been sought; and

8. Keep such records and make such reports as required by the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services.

B. Each local pretrial services officer, for the jurisdictions served, may provide the following optional services, as appropriate and when available resources permit:

1. Conduct, subject to court approval, drug and alcohol screenings, or tests at investigation pursuant to subsection B of § 19.2-123 or following release to supervision, and conduct or facilitate the preparation of screenings or assessments or both pursuant to state approved protocols;

2. Facilitate placement of defendants in a substance abuse education or treatment program or services or other education or treatment service, including referral to screening for participation in a behavioral health docket that has been established in accordance with § 18.2-254.3 as a treatment service, when ordered as a condition of bail;

3. Sign for the custody of any defendant investigated by a pretrial services officer, and released by a court to pretrial supervision as the sole term and condition of bail or when combined with an unsecured bond;

4. Provide defendant information and investigation services for those who are detained in jails located in jurisdictions served by the agency and are awaiting an initial bail hearing before a magistrate;

5. Supervise defendants placed by any judicial officer on home electronic monitoring as a condition of bail and supervision;

6. Prepare, for defendants investigated, the financial statement-eligibility determination form for indigent defense services; and

7. Subject to approved procedures and if so requested by the court, coordinate for defendants investigated, services for court-appointed counsel and for interpreters for foreign-language speaking and deaf or hard of hearing defendants.

2003, c. 603; 2007, c. 133; 2008, cc. 551, 691; 2019, c. 288; 2022, c. 327.