Prince William County is asking the federal government for help in reducing the number of inmates in the county jail.
The Intensive Pretrial
Supervision Program:
Established in July 2006.
Created with the initial goal of reducing jail crowding.
Officers screen defendants who remain jailed after their initial bond hearing and have a predicted detention stay of 90 days or more.
Eligibility is determined by the defendant’s risk level on the Virginia Pretrial Risk Assessment Instrument, resident status, employment status and criminal history.
After screening, the court decides if a defendant is eligible.
Participants are released with electronic monitoring and required to have three to five face-to-face contacts per week with a pretrial supervision officer, as well as random drug testing.
Source: Prince William county government
A $528,000 stimulus grant through the Bureau of Justice Assistance would expand a pilot program that moves mentally ill patients from the county’s Adult Detention Center to its Intensive Pretrial Supervision Program.
The money would provide for a mental health therapist, three part-time probation officers, and costs associated with electronic monitoring and drug testing, among other expenses.
In an attempt to reduce crowding at the jail, the program screens some defendants to see if they are eligible to return to the community on house arrest or electronic monitoring while awaiting trial.
The program has saved more than $366,000 and over 16,000 jail bed-days since its inception as a pilot program in July 2006, said Ralph Thomas, director of the Office of Criminal Justice Services. He said he anticipated that the program would save the county a similar amount of money in the coming years.
“We know that jails are not best equipped to handle people with mental health issues,” he said, citing the added costs of medication and increased supervision for many of the patients. “We feel that this will benefit the [Adult Detention Center]. We don’t want to overpopulate [it].”
The funds would help increase the size of the program by 20 to 25 inmates, lessen recidivism and increase public safety, Thomas said.
Supervisors on Tuesday approved a resolution authorizing staff to seek the funds from the federal government.
The federal money would allow the program to operate for three years without tax support. There is “no obligation to extend this program beyond the initial three-year period,” said Director of Legislative Affairs Dana Fenton.
The county would evaluate the program’s cost-effectiveness annually, he said.
