American Thinker ^ | 17 Nov, 2025 | Kelly Rae Robertson Posted on by MtnClimber I began my career with Allegheny County Pretrial Services in April 2008. I was sworn in by a judge, issued a badge, and placed into a system built on neutrality and public safety. Our job was simple: interview defendants, verify information, review police reports, pull complete criminal histories, and present magistrates with fact-based recommendations. We weren’t advocates for release or detention. We were there to present facts. And for a long time, the system worked because facts were the only thing that mattered. Failures to appear happened, but they were usually honest mistakes. Multiple pending cases were rare. Dangerous charges or a dangerous record meant detention; non-violent charges meant release. Rap sheets rarely exceeded fifteen pages. By the time I left, fifty-page criminal histories had become routine. Deputy Director Paul Larkin set the standard that kept the system stable. With decades in the courts, he understood both the law and the operational realities. If a case required a bond revocation, he supported it. If someone was held on a bad warrant, he contacted the president judge and resolved it. As long as he was there, the system functioned. In 2016, that changed. National organizations were pushing rapid decarceration, and the Arnold Foundation’s Public Safety Assessment the PSA arrived in our office. Paul warned it would dismantle the safeguards pretrial relied on. The tool ignored violent charges, violent histories, multiple pending cases, outstanding warrants, probation or parole status, and repeated failures to appear. It made release the default. Before he could stop it, Paul died at forty-eight. With him gone, internal resistance disappeared. After his death, our director approved the PSA and promoted a close friend as deputy director. She rushed a full computer overhaul despite warnings it wasn’t ready. Reports printed at 150 pages. Charges scrambled. Dates disappeared. (Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker. com . TOPICS: Society KEYWORDS: leftism Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC PO Box 9771 Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. 1 posted on by MtnClimber To: MtnClimber Why are foundations and NGOs pushing for this? Is it an attempt to crash society? 2 posted on by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.) Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by.
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Inferno: Cashless Bail and the Collapse of Justice in Allegheny County
