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| Big changes recommended for Yakima County's law and justice system |
| By kimatv.com - Michael Spears |
| Published: 06/08/2012 |
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YAKIMA, Wash. -- A report presented Thursday on Yakima County’s criminal justice operations recommended big changes to the system faced with rising costs and shrinking budgets. Overwhelming costs forced the county to take a closer look at the system. County Commissioners established an independent review committee earlier this year, to evaluate the efficiency of our law and justice operations, which account for over 80% of general fund spending. The committee consisted of three volunteers; Yakima businessman David Connell, Yakima civil trial attorney David Thorner, and U.S. Magistrate Judge James Hutton. The Department of Corrections ranked near the top of the areas that need to be reformed despite deep cuts over the last few years. The committee recommended changing booking standards and releasing more inmates with electronic monitoring prior to trial dates. At the start of the study, there were 450 people booked into jail locally, costing taxpayers up to $89 a day for each; spending on the county jail accounts for 21 percent of the general fund. The committee recognized new booking standards would increase costs in the beginning, but said they should drop over time, cutting money spent on incarceration. “This will have a cost savings effect,” said Law and Justice Panel Review Committee Member David Thorner. “You will have to invest money to re-staff, re-tool but long-term the potential is great to reduce overall expenditures.” The committee found some inefficiency with the criminal calendar system put in place in 2008. It sets a time frame for cases to be cleared with the purpose of moving them through the system faster. In 2011, 59 percent of trial cases were resolved within these guidelines. Read More. |
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