TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senator Brian P. Stack that would require firearm-related offenses to be fully factored into New Jersey’s pretrial detention decisions was advanced today by the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee.
The bill, S-3896, would require the state’s Pretrial Services Program to update its approved risk assessment tool to treat any firearm-related offense—whether it’s a criminal charge, conviction, juvenile adjudication, or civil penalty tied to unlawful firearm use—as a significant risk factor. These considerations would apply when evaluating both the likelihood that a defendant may fail to appear in court and the potential threat they may pose to public safety if released before trial.
“Our current pretrial risk assessment process doesn’t fully account for the dangers posed by firearm offenses,” said Senator Brian P. Stack. “When someone is charged with unlawfully using or possessing a gun, that should weigh heavily in any decision about pretrial release. This legislation would ensure that those risks are no longer overlooked, bolstering public safety throughout New Jersey.”
The legislation would also urge the Judiciary to revisit how the Public Safety Assessment (PSA) tool evaluates violent offenses. Currently, only a narrow category of crimes qualifies as “violent” under the PSA—even in cases where a firearm was discharged. The bill would encourage the courts to update the PSA’s criteria to include offenses such as reckless and public discharges of a firearm, which may currently be charged under lesser offenses like criminal mischief or endangering another person and are often excluded from risk scoring.
Since the Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2017 eliminated cash bail in favor of a risk-based approach, judges have relied on the PSA to guide pretrial detention decisions. The PSA evaluates nine key factors—based on a person’s criminal and court appearance history—to assess the risks of reoffending or failing to appear in court. Greater weight is typically given to prior convictions for violent crimes.
However, a 2024 report by the State Commission of Investigation (SCI), Illegal Firearms Use & Trends in New Jersey, identified significant gaps in how firearm offenses are categorized within the PSA. The Commission found that many firearm-related offenses were excluded from PSA scoring because they didn’t meet a limited definition of “violent crime,” despite posing a clear threat to public safety.
The bill would implement key recommendations from the SCI’s report and align the risk assessment process with the realities of modern gun violence, strengthening public safety and ensuring pretrial decisions are guided by a more accurate understanding of risk.