Thursday, April 13, 2006
Mahoning County judges offered these suggestions on jail bed allocation to U.S. District Judge David D. Dowd Jr.:
Reopen the misdemeanor jail.
Allow the jail to accept as many as 200 federal prisoners for $68 per day (as was previously negotiated).
Evaluate booking/arrest procedures of Youngstown police (for example, why book misdemeanor offenders rather than issue summonses).
Assess a fee on every jurisdiction that uses the jail.
Employ a felony predetention services coordinator to review the potential for release on own recognizance with supervision, where appropriate.
Allocate 150 beds to Youngstown Municipal Court, whose judges will use self-discipline to avoid exceeding that number.
Improve management of jail and its deployment of personnel.
Adopt a uniform bond system or guideline to release people on bond pending trial.
Implement a pretrial release program.
Prosecute criminal cases expeditiously, with no more than 30 days between arrest and bindover, 14 days between bindover and indictment and 90 days from arrest to completion of case
Prioritize available beds according to the nature of the crime, character of the accused, flight risk and threat posed by the accused to the community.
Have pretrial release program supervisor and individual courts resolve conflicts in court orders.
Require prisoners to pay for incarceration.
Reduce time from sentencing to conveyance.
Require judges to monitor their respective courts' jail bed allotments so they don't use more than their share.
Fund jail to full capacity.
Adopt a pretrial services program to address overcrowding, find alternatives for people held on probation violation and monitor electronic home detention.
Require all courts to contribute to costs of housing inmates.
Open jail to a maximum of 658 inmates, including 200 federal inmates at $68 per day, 50 beds for county courts, 60 beds for Youngstown Municipal Court and 268 beds for general division of common pleas court.
Charge Youngstown, Struthers and Campbell $25 per day per prisoner, plus medical costs and meals.
Use alternatives to jail, including house arrest and electronic monitoring.
Give "significantly more attention" to incarcerating mentally ill inmates, particularly those who aren't charged with serious offenses.
Source: U.S. District Court Northern District| of Ohio Eastern Division