Retired probation officer thinks judges discresion is sufficent
Sacramento County Public Defender Steven Garrett lauded the County’s pretrial release program, used throughout the state, at the County Board of Supervisors’ June 10 budget meeting.
“It’s different,” Garrett said. “We’re not in the same space as probation.”
The nature of the criminal justice system is not fair and when we over incarcerate, we are harming our community according to Garrett
County budget officer Britt Ferguson requested that the Board of Supervisors (BOS) enhance and continue to fund two county agencies for its pretrial release program at the June 10 morning budget meeting downtown.
Ferguson said the program currently has a caseload of 500 and requested that the BOS continue to enhance funding by $600 thousand for the pretrial release program within the public defender's office.
The program uses evidence-based practices, risk assessment tools and levels of supervision and services to retain people out in the community according to Ferguson.
District 2 County Supervisor Partrick Kennedy said he supports the probation department and believes they are helping keep the jail populations and questioned why funding was going to the probation department’s program but not the pretrial program within the public defender’s office.
Kennedy said it seems like a relatively small amount of money to and essentially that the BOS should enhance the pretrial release program.
Supervisor Phil Serna said he has to look at the program financially as well as how successful they are at reducing the jail population.
According to County documents approximately 125 need assessments are conducted a week. Of them, nearly 50% require social worker follow up.
Retired Sacramento County probation officer Ray Lozada said when evaluating who goes into and out of custody while assessing the threat to the community, that it should be done on an individual case by case basis.
“I don’t believe that a one shoe fits all approach algorithm is going to provide any extra assurity that reinforces our concern for community safety,” Lozada said.
He said not everybody can afford to get out of jail and that money shouldn’t be an issue when it comes to incarceration and that judges already have the ability to apply that discretion to release people on their own recognizance.
“Supervision from a government entity when folks are not guilty it can lead to bigger problems and undermine the process that’s already in place.”