Glossary
What is Pretrial Detention?
Being held in jail before trial, while a case is still open and before any conviction.
Pretrial detention means being held in jail while a criminal case is still open, before any conviction. A person may stay in custody until bail is posted or the case ends.
It is common. A 2025 Prison Policy Initiative report estimated about 457,000 people are held before trial in local jails, and most people in jail have not been convicted.
For families, this time can be hard because there is often no set release date. Jail deposit and commissary rules still apply during this period.
Read more
- Jail Commissary vs. Prison Commissary: What Families Should Know
- How to Send Money to Someone in Jail