Bail Plan To Help KY Jails
The Kentucky Supreme Court announced a pilot project Monday that could save counties an estimated $12 million a month by allowing thousands of people arrested for nonviolent, non-sexual crimes to post bail immediately after they are arrested. Report from the Courier-Journal.
The project would set standard bail amounts for roughly 600 offenses, most of them misdemeanors, so defendants don’t have to spend a night or weekend in jail waiting for judges to set the amounts for their release. Individuals would then post bail and leave. “It is designed to help Kentucky, not hurt Kentucky,” Justice Will T. Scott said. In the next couple months, the court will pick the counties where it will test the new rules, which would apply mostly to first-time offenders and would include such crimes as marijuana possession, traffic offenses, hunting violations and shoplifting, Scott said.
It costs counties $30 to $50 a day to house individuals in jails. Scott said a nine-month period analyzed by the court found 13,000 defendants in jails who could have been released immediately under the proposed changes. He said the other benefit of the project is to standardize bail amounts for certain offenses. Currently, judges determine bail, which can vary greatly depending on the county. Under the proposed change, judges could still decide to set bail higher than the standardized amount, but they would have to give reasons. Those decisions could be appealed.
Christopher Cohron, president of the Kentucky Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys, said the project “is a perfect example of instituting procedures that financially are going to make a huge impact on our jails but are going to pose only minimal risk to public safety.” He said state and local governments are struggling financially in the midst of a recession, and officials need to consider all options to reduce costs.
Campbell County Jailer Greg Buckler, who said that he was told by one of the justices that his county could be a candidate for the pilot project, said he generally supports the concept, although he hasn’t seen the details. During the coming Labor Day weekend, Buckler estimates that about 30 people will have to spend the weekend in jail on minor offenses because a judge won’t be on duty to set bail. “If we can get somebody out, especially on weekends … that would save taxpayers some money on incarceration, plus leave more space for the ones that need to be in jail,” he said.
Marshall Long, executive director of the Kentucky Jailers’ Association, told The Associated Press that his organization is reserving judgment until after the initiative has been tested. “I don’t oppose trying it,” Long said. “It if works, keep on doing it. If it doesn’t, stop.”
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