Baltimore County corrections officials are renewing a proposal to switch from in-person bail reviews to video proceedings, a move they said would boost courthouse security and cut back transportation costs.
Under existing policy, police officers must drive prisoners from precincts to district court buildings in Catonsville, Essex or Towson for bail reviews, consuming time when they could be on patrol, officials said. After exploring the proposal for several years, County Executive Jim Smith is slated to meet next week with corrections and police officials to discuss a plan to send arrestees to the county?s detention center in Towson, where a bail review hearing would be conducted via video to the district courts.
While nothing is concrete, the proposal is gaining momentum from top public safety officials, said county spokesman Don Mohler.
“There is no doubt Jim O?Neill, our director of corrections, and our Police Chief [Terrence] Sheridan, who are renowned for their public safety expertise, think we ought to be considering this,” Mohler said.
Baltimore County is one of the few remaining large jurisdictions in Maryland that still do in-person bail reviews, officials said. Members of the county?s law community said the topic has been discussed ? and debated ? over the past two decades.
Alexandra Williams, administrative judge of the county?s District Court, said video bail reviews offer protection to the general public, who walk the same halls as prisoners heading to in-person reviews.
In Essex, officers transporting prisoners use the same parking lot as citizens, she said.
“I think now that the technology is refined enough and the security issues are prevalent enough, we really have to look at it again or at least take it for a test ride,” she said.
But challengers said the proposal could transform the county?s new detention center into a Baltimore City-like Central Booking, an idea Williams called a “misnomer.”
Video bail reviews could significantly increase the number of prisoners released onto Towson streets, said T. Wray McCurdy, a defense attorney and member of the executive council of the county?s bar association.
Arrestees are often released poorly dressed and without money for bus or cab fare to get home, which could be far from Towson, McCurdy said. He also said he feels the public has been excluded from input.
“I think so far the only people involved in the discussions are attorneys, judges, police and the corrections people,” he said. “The people most affected are the arrestees and residents in Towson, and they haven?t been told anything.”
