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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 10:54 pm
Time: 10:54 pm
Results for pretrial release (arizona)
1 results foundAuthor: Lemke, Albert J. Title: Evaluation of the Pretrial Release Pilot Program in the Mesa Municipal Court Summary: Pretrial release is a common practice in many courts throughout the country. Electronic monitoring of defendants is also becoming more common. Usually these occur in courts dealing with felony crimes. This report reviews a pretrial release pilot project incorporating the use of electronic monitoring as an alternative to bond for misdemeanor cases in a limited jurisdiction court. The first project of its kind in the State of Arizona, the Mesa Municipal Court utilized Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled ankle bracelets to monitor pretrial released defendants. This report reviews the first four and a half months (August 11, 2008 through December 31, 2008) this pilot project was in place. In custody defendants who met the following guidelines were eligible for the program: • Case is at pre-adjudication status • Defendant does not pose a potential threat to others • Defendant does not have a request to be held from another jurisdiction • Defendant has the ability to charge the device for two hours each day. Existing court staff was used to manage the pretrial release program. Monitoring was performed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the day shift consisted of staff from the In-Custody Unit, the evening, night, weekend and holiday shift consisted of a Deputy Court Administrator. Equipment and technology issues were greater and more time consuming than anticipated. Thirty-eight percent of the devices experienced a technical or mechanical breakdown, which required replacement of the device. Satellite and cellular coverage also caused numerous issues that weren’t expected. The use of electronic monitoring eliminated the time a defendant had to spend in the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) jail awaiting their next court hearing. It also reduced the time a defendant being held on bond had to stay in the MCSO jail waiting for their next court hearing from an average of two weeks to as little as two days. This saved the city $73.46 for every day a defendant did not have to be housed in jail. A total of 151 defendants were place on electronic monitoring for a combined total of 3,598 days and a monitoring cost of $25,186. Utilizing monitoring costs only, the use of electronic monitoring saved an estimated $144,000 during the four and a half month pilot. Defendants received a reminder call the day before their next court date, reducing the Failure to Appear (FTA) rate from a court average of 29% to five percent. A survey was completed by the seven judges of the Mesa Municipal Court to assess their views and opinions regarding the program. There was overwhelming support of the program and the benefit it provided. The pretrial release program established that electronic monitoring is a viable alternative to bond in pretrial misdemeanor cases. While additional resources would be needed for proper electronic supervision, the cost savings and benefits to the court, city and defendants make this a worthwhile program. Details: Williamsburg, VA: Institute for Court Managment, 2009. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed July 28, 2011 at: http://www.ncsc.org/~/media/files/pdf/education%20and%20careers/cedp%20papers/2009/lemke_evalpretrialreleaseprog.ashx Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncsc.org/~/media/files/pdf/education%20and%20careers/cedp%20papers/2009/lemke_evalpretrialreleaseprog.ashx Shelf Number: 122111 Keywords: Alternatives to IncarcerationElectronic MonitoringPretrial Release (Arizona) |