RAND's divisions conduct research on a uniquely broad front for clients around the globe.
Research Summary
Jun 30, 2023
Research
Sep 12, 2023
Most relevant regions
Apr 29, 2026
Qualitative assessment of nine California counties finds that standardizing mental health diversion processes facilitates implementation, while prosecutor concerns and public safety perceptions pose barriers.
Oct 1, 2025
RAND partners with state and local agencies to assess staffing, training, and well-being needs across the criminal legal system to develop evidence-based strategies for building a skilled and resilient justice workforce.
RAND evaluates employment, education, and post-conviction relief strategies by drawing insights from employers, service providers, and people with lived experience.
Aug 4, 2025
This report presents findings and recommendations from an evaluation of California's Public Defense Pilot Program, which made funding available to counties to support the provision of counsel to those who might be eligible for postconviction relief.
Apr 9, 2024
This report presents findings from a statewide evaluation of the Indigent Defense Grant Program, which provided supplemental funding to public defenders' offices in small to medium-sized counties in California beginning in 2021.
Aug 30, 2023
The systems that provide counsel for indigent adult and juvenile defendants in the United States vary across states, localities, and jurisdictions. Researchers developed priorities to advance knowledge around effective indigent defense strategies.
Jul 27, 2023
Excessive caseloads prevent public defense attorneys from effectively representing clients. Researchers used the Delphi method to determine the average time needed to provide reasonably effective assistance and establish national workload standards.
Roughly half of U.S. counties do not provide defense counsel at bail hearings. A field experiment in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, shows that providing counsel can decrease the use of monetary bail and pretrial detention.
May 16, 2023
This research brief summarizes results of a process and outcome evaluation of Project Reset, a program that diverts adults arrested for low-level crimes into community-based support programs and out of the court system.
In this report, RAND researchers share results of a process and outcome evaluation of Project Reset, a program that diverts adults arrested for low-level crimes into community-based support programs and out of the court system.
May 11, 2023
Roughly half of U.S. counties do not provide defense counsel at bail hearings, and few studies have documented the potential impacts of legal representation at this stage.
Press
May 5, 2023
Providing defendants with legal counsel during their initial bail hearing decreases use of monetary bail and pretrial detention, without increasing the likelihood that defendants fail to appear at the subsequent preliminary hearing.
