The Bureau of Justice Assistance and the National Institute of Corrections brought together judges, prosecutors, public defenders, police, pretrial program administrators, and others for an informal discussion lasting a day. The meeting lacked time to develop specific recommendations for various Department of Justice offices. Nevertheless, the participants identified five general areas needing Federal assistance. These included improving the quality of information available to decision makers, as well as improving and expanding training for decision makers. Additional areas included defining and cataloguing appropriate options for decision makers based on fairness to the defendant and public safety for the community, defining and clarifying terms relevant to the primary decisions, and developing standards and principles governing the decisions. List of participants