The Pre-Trial Services unit of the department was established in February, 1990, to develop a supervised release program aimed at reducing jail overcrowding. All defendants booked into the jail are screened to determine eligibility. Defendants released into the program by the courts receive regular release, intensive supervision release or electronic monitoring release.
The purpose of Pre-Trial Services is to keep the jail population manageable, alleviate jail overcrowding, initiate contact with all individuals who are arrested in the county to determine the offender's status, provide supervised release, provide treatment and referral options for offenders when needed, allow offenders to hire their own attorneys, and provide information to judges on the defendants at their first court appearance so they can make an informed recommendation on release.
In FY '04, state grant funding for the Pre-Trial Services program was eliminated. Program costs have been absorbed by the department. Also in FY '04, the number of officers supervising the Pre-Trial caseload was reduced from 2 to 1.
The following table compares the number of offenders released from jail into the pre-trial program to the number of offenders denied release from fiscal years ’01 - ’05. Those listed as "discharged" bonded out of jail on their own.
Pre-Trial Release Program |
|||||
|
FY’01
|
FY'02
|
FY'03 | FY'04
|
FY'05
|
Released
|
326
|
326
|
223 | 205 |
280 |
Denied
|
322
|
417
|
468 | 478 |
353 |
Discharged/
Bonded out
|
373
|
301
|
308 | 303 |
397 |
In FY '05, 2461 individuals were screened for program eligibility resulting in 281 new admissions. The program served a total of 357 defendants during the year. The following table shows Pre-Trial program activity for FY '01 - '05:
Pre-Trial Historical Program Activity
INTAKES DISCHARGES # SERVED
Additionally, in FY '05, 203 pre-trial defendants were discharged from the program. The following table compares pre-trial discharges by discharge reason:
Pre-Trial Services FY '01 - '05 |
|||||
|
FY'01
|
FY’02
|
FY'03 |
FY'04 |
FY'05 |
Community Supervision
|
97
|
157
|
131 | 81 | 107 |
Dismissed
|
100
|
24
|
29 | 33 | 9 |
Revoked from Pre-Trial
|
74
|
85
|
66 | 68 | 45 |
Sentenced to Jail/ID/SJ
|
20
|
28
|
22 | 22 | 22 |
Bond Forfeiture
|
3
|
9
|
9 | 4 | 7 |
Reduced to Misdemeanor
|
3
|
2
|
0 | 13 | 11 |
Other
|
9
|
9
|
11 | 8 | 2 |
| Total | 306 | 314 | 268 | 229 | 203 |
The pre-trial program conducts an extensive urinalysis testing program with the American BioMedica® Drug Detection System, conducting 6137 tests in fiscal year ’05. Of the administered tests, 270 tested positive, indicating a 3% positive rate. The officers test a sample on site with results available in three minutes. The primary tests are in three categories: marijuana, cocaine and amphetamines.
When an offender tests positive for a particular drug and he contests the test, it is sent for confirmation. The department currently uses One Source Toxicology for confirmation testing.
Two methods are used to detect alcohol usage. The most reliable method is an admission of use by the offender. Following admission, the officer then utilizes the Continuum of Sanctions appropriate to the individual. The second method requires the use of an alcohol testing product that detects alcohol in the offender's saliva, breath or urine.