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Who is Eligible to participate in the Pretrial Intervention Program?
Pursuant to 5 V.I. Code Ann. § 4612, which establishes the diversion of selected
offenders, participation in the Pretrial Intervention Program is specifically
limited to:
- Individuals who have not previously been convicted of a violation of any law of
the Virgin Islands or of any other territory or state of the United States in any criminal
court proceeding after having reached the age of seventeen (17) years; except for minor
traffic violations for which no term of incarceration may have been imposed;
- Individuals who do not have any outstanding warrants, continuances, appeals or
criminal cases pending before any courts of the Territory or of any other territory or
state of the United States;
- Individuals who receive a commendation from a program of community supervision
and services that they would, in light of the capacities of and guidelines governing
it, benefit from participation in such a program.
Who is prohibited from participating in the Pretrial Intervention Program?
Individuals prohibited from participating in the Pretrial Intervention Program are any
persons who have been charged murder, kidnapping, assault in the first or second degree,
rape in the first degree and arson in the first degree.
Is there a court-imposed fee for participating in the Pretrial Intervention
Program?
There is a pretrial intervention fee that must be paid by all participants in
the amount of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00).
Can my conditions for participating in the Pretrial Intervention Program be
transferred to another jurisdiction?
Yes, with the permission of the Court.
Can I leave the jurisdiction on vacation, emergency, business, etc.
while participating in the program?
A participant in the Pretrial Intervention Program may leave the jurisdiction, but
only by an Order entered by the Court authorizing them to do so.
What happens if I do not satisfy the conditions imposed by the Court
governing my participation in the Pretrial Intervention Program before the expiration
of my participation?
Pretrial Intervention Officers may be required to testify in court as to their
findings and recommendations; to attend court hearings and update the court
regarding the offender’s compliance with the terms of his or her sentence and
on the offender’s efforts at rehabilitation. If there is blatant disregard to
fulfill the conditions imposed by the Court governing a individual’s participation
in the program, the Court will be promptly notified and the offender may be remanded
back for trial.
Can my participation in the Pretrial Intervention Program be terminated early?
No, the entire sentence of pretrial intervention must be served and the
conditions met.
What is the difference between the Pretrial Intervention Program and Probation?
Probation is a sentence imposed upon convicted criminal offenders for the
commission of a crime. The offender is released into the community by the
Court’s Order under the supervision of a probation officer in lieu of incarceration.
Probation may also be unsupervised. Offenders who fail to satisfactorily comply with
the conditions of probation maybe subject to revocation of probation.
Pre-trial intervention is a program that diverts selected individuals from the
normal prosecution process in order that they can be rehabilitated and returned
to the community as productive citizens with no criminal record. Upon successfully
completing the Pretrial Intervention program the pending criminal charges are
dismissed. There is no adjudication of guilt.
