Vera Institute of Justice

Overview

The Association de Politiaue Criminelle Appliquée de Réinsertion Sociaie (A-P.C.A.R.S.) in the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris, was created in 1980, the product of several years of preparatory work by the German Marshall Fund and the Vera Institute of Justice. The prime purpose of A.P.C.A.R.S. is to provide information to judges in criminal cases that will help inform their detention/release decisions. A.P.C.A.R.S. presents a judge with information, gathered during a post arrest interview with the defendant and verified when possible, describing the defendant's work, family and home situation. A.P.C.A.R.S. also provides the judge with specific dispositional alternatives, relying most often on community resources and programs. Finally, A.P.C.A.R.S. performs short-term follow-up work with defendants, coordinating and overseeing referrals to services. This report will describe work performed under German Marshall Fund Grant #1-31538, the purpose of which was to report on A.P.C.A.R.S. current operations and to design a method of data collection that would provide on-going, systematic information describing A.P.C.A.R.S.