Bill Aims to Fight Overcrowding

Article Tools Print This Page | Comments(0) | Suggest a Story

By The Gwinnett Daily Post

Published: 02/06/2006

Georgia legislators are addressing a new way to combat jail overcrowding in the town of Gwinnett don't arrest those charged with minor offenses. Instead, give them a ticket.
The idea wouldn't apply to all minor legal infractions, but if people can produce a valid ID and promise to show up to court, they may not have to spend the night in jail.
Bills have already been drafted in both the state House and Senate.
The Senate version, which was submitted first, is sponsored by three Gwinnettians: Renee Unterman, R-Buford, Don Balfour, R-Snellville, and David Shafer, R-Duluth.
Rep. Melvin Everson, R-Snellville, is working on a bipartisan bill with Reps. Hugh Floyd, D-Norcross, John Heard, R-Lawrenceville, and Clay Cox, R-Lilburn.
To help build a case for the proposal, Gwinnett County's Police Department, Solicitor's Office and Magistrate Court piloted a study of theft by shoplifting, one of four charges where citations currently are allowed by law, said Chief Magistrate Judge Warren Davis.
Citations are also allowed on charges of possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana, criminal trespass and underage possession of alcohol.
For “countless others,” from public drunkenness to harassing phone calls, Davis said, police officers have to drive the suspect to the local jail. In traffic, and if a judge isn't nearby, the arrest process can take three hours.
On average, according to the study, the arrest process takes about 110 minutes if a judge is at the jail and 130 minutes if the judge is at the county courthouse. Investigating and issuing a citation takes about 35 minutes.
“It keeps cops on the street,” said Gwinnett County Police Chief Charlie Walters when he pitched the bill to legislators last week. “It'll increase our efficiency tremendously.”
Walters said the local chiefs' association, which includes representatives from all of the city police departments, has endorsed the idea.
“This keeps more police presence on the street without spending another dollar, and it keeps people out of jail, which saves another dollar,” County Administrator Jock Connell said.
In fact, jail overcrowding is a major concern and a driver for the bill, Davis said, adding that 46 other states allow for misdemeanor citations.
Sheriff Butch Conway said he wasn't sure how much impact the proposal would have on Gwinnett's jail, but he said he supports any idea to help reduce the number of inmates taken into custody, which averages about 100 each day.
“If it frees up bringing five people a day, that would help,” he said. “It just saves us work.”
While officers would have discretion on who to arrest and who to issue citations to, the bill stipulates that eligible offenders would have to have a valid driver's license or state-issued photo ID, have ties to the community and be willing to sign the citation, which would act as a promissory note to show up to court. Background checks would be completed through radio dispatch to ensure the person isn't violating parole or probation or wanted on another charge.
According to the study, fewer than 4 percent of the people issued citations for shoplifting failed to show up for court lower than the show-up rate for people who pay a bond to get out of jail.
Assistant Solicitor Rosanna Szabo said that lower rate probably occurs because the summons is handed directly to the offender instead of mailed weeks or months after the infraction.
If someone fails to appear in court, she said, the court would go through the same process of issuing a warrant for arrest that would happen for someone who failed to appear after bonding out of jail.

Comments:

No comments have been posted for this article.

Login to let us know what you think

MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search