Site search
sponsored by
Home
News
Alternative drug courts have cut the Nevada County jail population to the point where the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility is being filled with federal inmates from outside the area, Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal said Wednesday.
Royal cited a "tremendous" decrease in the jail population, allowing him to bring in federal prisoners at the rate of $70 a day from the state.
"Look at the number of people in our facility versus the statistics of arrest, which remain constant," Royal said. "You would think the jail population would remain a constant, too, but there has been a tremendous decrease.
"That indicates something has changed with how our courts are sentencing. We have a compassionate court, and maybe that impacts how they sentence."
Royal attributed the dip in jail inmate population to what are termed therapeutic courts: Prop. 36 Court, adult drug court, dependency drug court and mental health court, which put offenders through a supervised therapeutic process instead of sentencing them to jail or prison.
The success of the programs remains a topic of debate, with graduation rates ranging from high to low.
On Wednesday, 146 prisoners were housed in the county jail, including 42 federal prisoners, said Nevada County Sheriff Jail Lt. Gary Smith.
Smith was working at the jail when Prop. 36 Court was implemented in 2001 and said he noticed a drop in local population afterward.
"The criminal justice system is doing a good job identifying the people who need these therapeutic programs," according to Smith. "We're now seeing the effects of some of those programs."
Enrollment in Prop. 36 Court, the program with the most offenders, has grown since it was implemented, said Nevada County Court Executive Officer Sean Metroka. About 51 people are now enrolled, Metroka said.
"In 2004 we decided to expand the program and enrollment went up dramatically," he said.
The program saves taxpayers money, Metroka said, because it costs the state of California much more to jail a non-violent drug offender than it costs to rehabilitate him or her.
Assistant Public Defender Richard Wilcox said he is pleased to hear the jail population is decreasing.
"When you're sent to prison, you do half your time. Two years becomes a year, and most go back," Wilcox said. "According to the Department of Corrections, a majority - 95 percent - return to prison within 120 days. You violate parole and create a new crime, a new case. The cycle just continues."
Prop. 36 has a success rate of about 70 percent, he said, which refers to participants who graduate from the program and had their records expunged. The recidivism rate for Prop. 36 Court is "pretty low" compared to prisoners who violate their parole, he said.
Some graduation rates are lower, however. Only one person out of 15 graduated from the smaller adult drug court last year, according to court statistics. The offenders return to jail or prison when they do not successfully complete adult drug court.
Detractors of Prop. 36 court say the program is a "revolving door" for many offenders. Grass Valley attorney and former judge candidate Ray Shine has said Prop. 36 gives too many chances to repeat offenders.
Although the local jail population is decreasing, the county is funding a feasibility study to expand the jail.
"I'm not strongly advocating adding on at his point," Royal said, "but at any given moment, the dynamic could change, and we don't want to be caught in a position where we could be sued."
In addition, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed budget cuts earlier this month that would grant early release to 22,000 inmates determined to be "low risk" with less than 20 months remaining on their sentences. Some of them could end up in Nevada County, Royal said.
Royal said generating money by transporting federal inmates - most of whom are non-violent and awaiting transport to other facilities - is a better option than cost-cutting in the form of layoffs.
"The way our jail is designed, we have 'fixed posts,'" he said. "In each pod you have so many staff working in that wing, and with our female population going up, we're not going to eliminate those fixed posts. We can't reduce staff."
ooo
To contact Staff Writer Robyn Moormeister, e-mail robynm@theunion.com or call 477-4236.
Arrests in western
Nevada County rise ...
Total Nevada Co. Grass Valley Nevada City
Sheriff's Office Police Dept. Police Dept.
2005 3,638 1,406 1,948 284
2006 3,657 1,406 2,025 226
2007 3,716 1,196 2,176 344
... while county jail
population falls
2005: 189 2006: 174 2007: 157*
*average daily population; includes federal inmates
Source: Law enforcement agencies
Royal cited a "tremendous" decrease in the jail population, allowing him to bring in federal prisoners at the rate of $70 a day from the state.
"Look at the number of people in our facility versus the statistics of arrest, which remain constant," Royal said. "You would think the jail population would remain a constant, too, but there has been a tremendous decrease.
"That indicates something has changed with how our courts are sentencing. We have a compassionate court, and maybe that impacts how they sentence."
Royal attributed the dip in jail inmate population to what are termed therapeutic courts: Prop. 36 Court, adult drug court, dependency drug court and mental health court, which put offenders through a supervised therapeutic process instead of sentencing them to jail or prison.
The success of the programs remains a topic of debate, with graduation rates ranging from high to low.
On Wednesday, 146 prisoners were housed in the county jail, including 42 federal prisoners, said Nevada County Sheriff Jail Lt. Gary Smith.
Smith was working at the jail when Prop. 36 Court was implemented in 2001 and said he noticed a drop in local population afterward.
"The criminal justice system is doing a good job identifying the people who need these therapeutic programs," according to Smith. "We're now seeing the effects of some of those programs."
Enrollment in Prop. 36 Court, the program with the most offenders, has grown since it was implemented, said Nevada County Court Executive Officer Sean Metroka. About 51 people are now enrolled, Metroka said.
"In 2004 we decided to expand the program and enrollment went up dramatically," he said.
The program saves taxpayers money, Metroka said, because it costs the state of California much more to jail a non-violent drug offender than it costs to rehabilitate him or her.
Assistant Public Defender Richard Wilcox said he is pleased to hear the jail population is decreasing.
"When you're sent to prison, you do half your time. Two years becomes a year, and most go back," Wilcox said. "According to the Department of Corrections, a majority - 95 percent - return to prison within 120 days. You violate parole and create a new crime, a new case. The cycle just continues."
Prop. 36 has a success rate of about 70 percent, he said, which refers to participants who graduate from the program and had their records expunged. The recidivism rate for Prop. 36 Court is "pretty low" compared to prisoners who violate their parole, he said.
Some graduation rates are lower, however. Only one person out of 15 graduated from the smaller adult drug court last year, according to court statistics. The offenders return to jail or prison when they do not successfully complete adult drug court.
Detractors of Prop. 36 court say the program is a "revolving door" for many offenders. Grass Valley attorney and former judge candidate Ray Shine has said Prop. 36 gives too many chances to repeat offenders.
Although the local jail population is decreasing, the county is funding a feasibility study to expand the jail.
"I'm not strongly advocating adding on at his point," Royal said, "but at any given moment, the dynamic could change, and we don't want to be caught in a position where we could be sued."
In addition, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed budget cuts earlier this month that would grant early release to 22,000 inmates determined to be "low risk" with less than 20 months remaining on their sentences. Some of them could end up in Nevada County, Royal said.
Royal said generating money by transporting federal inmates - most of whom are non-violent and awaiting transport to other facilities - is a better option than cost-cutting in the form of layoffs.
"The way our jail is designed, we have 'fixed posts,'" he said. "In each pod you have so many staff working in that wing, and with our female population going up, we're not going to eliminate those fixed posts. We can't reduce staff."
ooo
To contact Staff Writer Robyn Moormeister, e-mail robynm@theunion.com or call 477-4236.
Arrests in western
Nevada County rise ...
Total Nevada Co. Grass Valley Nevada City
Sheriff's Office Police Dept. Police Dept.
2005 3,638 1,406 1,948 284
2006 3,657 1,406 2,025 226
2007 3,716 1,196 2,176 344
... while county jail
population falls
2005: 189 2006: 174 2007: 157*
*average daily population; includes federal inmates
Source: Law enforcement agencies
