BC 2005 04 4 WORK SESSION - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

April 4, 2005 (Work Session) Page 131 The Board of Commissioners for the County of Cabarrus met for an Agenda Work Session in the Multipurpose Room at the Cabarrus County Governmental Center in Concord, North Carolina on Monday, April 4, 2005, at 3:30 p.m. Present - Chairman: Carolyn B. Carpenter Vice Chairman: Robert W. Carruth Commissioners: Robert M. Freeman Joni D. Juba Coy C. Privette Also present were John D. Day, County Manager; Frankie F. Bonds, Clerk to the Board; and Kay Honeycutt, Deputy Clerk to the Board. Chairman Carpenter called the meeting to order at 3:38 p.m. vice Chairman Carruth gave the invocation. Rowan County's Pretrial Release Program Mr. V. T. \\Buddy" Poplin, Rowan County Pretrial services Coordinator I presented an overview of the "Pretrial Release Programll used since May 2000 to reduce Rowan County's jail population and make it safer for both employees and detainees. Although similar programs exist throughout North Carolina, Mr. Poplin reported Rowan's program is the only one that actually pays the bonds (up to $10,000.00) for inmates that lack the necessary financial resources. Highlights of the overview included the following: . The program is not an "instant fix" and will not reduce the inmate population by a large number immediately. . Mr. Poplin'S salary is paid with Criminal Justice Partnership Program (CJPP) grant funds and bonds are paid from the Prisoner's Concession Funds. . The Program is not under the Sheriff's Department. . Approval by the Senior Superior Court Judge and the District Court Judge is required to initiate the program. . Extensive interviews and background checks are performed before inmates are accepted into the program. . 3,591 interviews conducted by Pretrial Services. . 1,720 inmates accepted for the Pretrial Program. . 1,871 inmates rejected by the program. . $897,880.00 - estimated savings for medical services for inmates if they had remained in jail. . $149,523.00 paid to bondsmen. . $33,033.00 reimbursed by detainees to the Pretrial Program. . 162,719 jail free days saved counting days for continued cases. Mr. Poplin responded to numerous questions about the program. Questions were directed towards the following issues: nature of crimes committed, screening process, number of times the inmate population was above or below jail capacity, daily cost to house an inmate, etc. He reported the Cabarrus County Sheriff's Department already utilizes many of the pretrial release techniques to reduce its inmate population, with the exception of paying an inmate's bond. Sheriff Brad Riley explained the jail concession funds and reported those funds are returned to the County's general fund. He reported the Rowan County program would not be effective in Cabarrus County because the only people in jail here are those who have committed a serious crime and/or pose a safety or flight risk. Further, he stated in his opinion the program would not be a suitable short-term alternative to building a temporary jail in order to relieve j ail overcrowding. Finally, Sheriff Riley commended the judges, magistrates and law enforcement personnel for effectively working together to manage the jail population in Cabarrus County. There was a lengthy discussion about the pretrial release program. Issues addressed by the Board included the following: the need to continually reduce the inmate population by 50 to 75 inmates in order to reduce overcrowding; the danger of a citizen being hurt by an inmate released on a County-paid bond; safety of the officers; the need to address the issue of why a person is in jail; the immediate need to address jail overcrowding; and the effectiveness of implementing the program rather than building a temporary jail. It was suggested that the pretrial program, along with others, could be considered in the future to address jail population issues.