Pretrial Associate- Queens (Midnight Shift)

About the Role

Do you have a passion and desire to help New York City reduce jail overcrowding and unnecessary detention? Can you make a commitment to helping justice-involved people through the complex court system? Join our team of professionals seeking to improve the experience of justice-involved individuals in the NYC Courts!

About CJA

The New York City Criminal Justice Agency (CJA) is a not-for-profit service and research organization that operates in partnership with the New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. CJA is the City’s main pretrial services agency, combining operations, pilot projects, and research under one roof. CJA utilizes procedural justice practices to provide pretrial services to over 100,000 arrested annually in New York City. Information collected about these arrestees and subsequent case processing is maintained in the agency’s internal and externally shared database systems, which are used to conduct descriptive and evaluation research on arrestee characteristics, case processing and court outcomes, and on issues and potential reforms to criminal justice policy in New York City. CJA’s programs operate in the criminal courts and detention facilities 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the 5 boroughs of NYC, employing over 300 employees citywide.

Responsibilities

• Thoroughly and compassionately interviews recently arrested individuals in Central Booking locations in all boroughs to determine community ties. The information gathered plays a major role in CJA’s recommendation to release them without bail.
• Conducts telephone verifications of the information individuals provide, such as address, employment, possible sureties, and other factors that play an important role in the individual's opportunity to receive a recommendation for Release on Recognizance (ROR).
• Explains bail payment procedures and assists sureties with the bail payment process.
• Accurately records interview responses into the Agency’s computerized database.
• Determines release recommendations for individuals using CJA’s standardized release assessment, which combines criminal history factors and community ties information.
• Observes and monitors arraignment outcomes and assists individuals who have bail imposed.
• Participates in various interdepartmental programs, such as the Bail Expediting Program, which involves identifying eligible cases and making follow-up phone calls to their sureties to expedite bail payment at the courts rather than at DOC facilities.
• Interacts respectfully with other agencies and court players, such as NYPD, DOC, NYS Court Officers, Supervised Release programs, Court Clerks, and Legal Aid, to effectively facilitate court procedures and represent CJA in a professional manner.
• Contributes to and works on various innovative pilot programs implemented in the boroughs and suggests potential improvements.

Qualifications

• A high school diploma or GED is required, along with one year of relevant work experience.
• All college majors are welcome to apply, with preference given to candidates with a background in criminal justice or a related social science field.
• An associate degree from an accredited college is preferred but not required.
• Candidates with two or more years of comparable experience may also be considered.

Skills

• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Computer literacy, including Microsoft applications, and the ability to quickly adapt to changing technology.

Preferred Skills: Multilingual candidates are highly encouraged to apply (please list any fluent languages in your application).

Pay

$54,114.06 + $4,329 night differential

Schedule

11 PM - 7 AM. Please note this role may require weekend shifts and holidays.

Benefits

• Health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Comprehensive mental health and wellness Employee Assistance Program (EAP) plan.
• Four weeks’ vacation and paid holidays.
• Retirement plan with employer matching contributions.
• Professional learning and development opportunities through partnerships, vendor services, and in-house training.

CJA Values

• Commitment: We are committed to being active partners in criminal justice reform through initiatives and creative problem-solving that evaluates different methods and strategies for alternatives to detention.
• Fairness: We are guided by fairness and the presumption of innocence for those who are detained and work with integrity and without bias to protect the privacy and interest of court-involved people and their families.
• Innovation: We value curiosity as a driving force to lead the way in pretrial services. We use innovative techniques in research, pilot programs, and engaging justice-involved communities to execute our mission of reducing unnecessary pretrial detention.