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| No room in jail; no-show in court |
| By indeonline.com |
| Published: 03/28/2011 |
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Some nonviolent offenders who are being released from jail in the wake of deep cuts to Stark County’s general fund budget are failing to show up for court, according to Massillon Municipal Court judges Edward Elum and C. Roland Centrone. Instead of being booked into the county jail, prisoners are being granted emergency releases after signing personal recognizance bonds. The move is designed to save bed space at the jail, which is now operating as a 300-bed facility due to a 16 percent budget cut. The budget reduction forced the Sheriff’s Department to lay off 26 deputies, eight corrections officers and seven clerks. The inmate population at the jail, which serves as the booking facility for all county law enforcement agencies, has been reduced by 200. According to Elum, some released defendants are skipping court dates, forcing judges to issue arrest warrants. “Six months ago, they wouldn’t be signing a recognizance bond. They were kept in jail and then they would come over to court. Now, they are just signing their name and they’re out on the street while the officer is finishing their paper work,” Elum said. “... We are seeing felonies that would normally be in jail.” The early release of some prisoners is creating additional work for police officers who may have to arrest a defendant twice for the same offense if they miss their court date, according to Elum. To this point, however, the reduction in bed space has had little impact on the duties of Massillon Police Department officers, according to Police Chief Robert Williams. “Sometimes we deal with repeat offenders, but it has not been a big issue,” Williams said. In order conserve bed space, Elum and Centrone have been delaying the start of jail sentences. However, no sentences have been suspended. The number of beds allotted to Elum and Centrone fluctuates between 12 to 16 beds a day. “Sometimes it’s a good delay because we can get them (offenders) treatment, but it’s never a good delay when there is a victim involved,” Elum said. So far, the number of available beds for an in-house drug and alcohol treatment program at the jail has not been reduced, Elum said. “They (jail staff) know this is a challenge. They have been very kind to us,” Elum said. Staffing cuts at the Sheriff’s Department has produced a slight increase in operational costs, according to Massillon Municipal Clerk of Court Johnnie Maier. The court sends an employee to the jail five or six times a week to pick up booking paper work, a task once assigned to sheriff’s deputies. Maier said the employee is reimbursed for mileage. “Previously, they would have a deputy that would deliver to Canton Municipal Court and then swing over to us. Now, we go over there,” Maier said. “... We just want to make sure everything is here so the court can start on time.” Maier said he understands the jail is operating under difficult circumstances. Read More. |
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