Jail Population Management and Pretrial Practice in California Sonya Tafoya Public Policy Institute of California April 11, 2015

Outline Motivation Pretrial practices that impact the unsentenced jail population Observable pretrial outcomes in California Can we improve jail management and pretrial decision making with risk-based pretrial programs?

Motivation Jails jail space is a limited resource jails are expensive the majority of the jail population is non- sentenced Using jail space efficiently to maximize safety to minimize failures to appear in court to maximize perception of fairness  

Practices that impact the presentenced jail population in California Emergency/capacity release Financial/bail/surety bond Non-financial/own recognizance/cite and release/conditional supervision Proposition 47 (voter driven) Diversion

Practices that impact the presentenced jail population in California Emergency/capacity release Financial/bail/surety bond Non-financial/own recognizance/cite and release/conditional supervision

Many counties are operating jail facilities at or above 90% of rated capacity ADP/Rated Capacity Current (2013) >90% 36 >95% 28 >100% 21 >105% 16 >110% 13 >120% 9 >130% 6 >140% 1 SOURCE: Martin and Loftstrom (2014) Key Factors in California Jail Construction Needs, Public Policy Institute of California. NOTE: Data are from the Board of State and Community Corrections

SoCal counties operating one or more facilities above 90% rated capacity County Average Jail ADP Rated Capacity (RC) ADP/RC Imperial 535 376 142.3% Orange 7,224 5,543 130.3% Los Angeles 18,232 14,024 130.0% Santa Barbara 998 816 122.2% San Luis Obispo 692 589 117.5% San Diego 5,627 4,992 112.7% San Bernardino 5,847 5,586 104.7% Riverside 3,879 3,834 101.2% Ventura 1,657 1,810 91.5% Statewide 43,034 77,304 105.3% SOURCE: Martin and Loftstrom (2014) Key Factors in California Jail Construction Needs, Public Policy Institute of California. NOTE: Data are from the Board of State and Community Corrections

Capacity releases of unsentenced inmates are persistent

Defendants released due to capacity have an unreported risk profile Example schema for capacity release Misdemeanor Un-sentenced Crimes against property Crimes against people Sentenced Regardless of bail amount In descending order of length of stay May release versus shall release Some ineligible inmates Sheriff discretion Felony Un-sentenced Crimes against property Crimes against people Sentenced-

Practices that impact the presentenced jail population in California Emergency/capacity release Financial/bail/surety bond Non-financial/own recognizance/cite and release/conditional supervision

California has relied on bail to a greater extent than the rest of the U.S.

Vast majority of bail amounts are set over $20,000 Source: State Court Processing Statistics: California counties 2000-2009, unweighted

In $20-30K range, 44% of defendants are released, release rates decline thereafter Source: State Court Processing Statistics: California counties 2000-2009, unweighted

Most released defendants are not rearrested Source: State Court Processing Statistics: California counties 2000-2009

Most released defendants make all court appearances Source: State Court Processing Statistics: California counties 2000-2009

Pretrial misconduct varies by arrest charge Pretrial misconduct, by arrest charge Released Defendants Most Serious Arrest Charge % Multiple FTA % Re-arrested any felony Re-arrested drug felony Re-arrested property felony Re-arrested violent felony Violent 2.2 6.7 0.8 0.9 3.7 Property 4.4 12.6 8.4 Drug 9.9 14.7 10.1 2.3 1.1 Public-Order 3.4 8.8 1.3 1.6 Total 6.6 12.4 5.7 3.8 1.4 Source: State Court Processing Statistics: California counties 2000-2009

Despite high FTA rates, drug offenders account for over 1/2 of non-financial releases Source: State Court Processing Statistics: California counties 2000-2009

The promise of pretrial services programs Measure risk with an empirically derived risk- assessment tool FTA public safety Mitigate risk of misconduct court date reminders Supervision and services Benefits Reduce dual system errors Improve consistency Increase transparency

Common pretrial risk factors Current charge(s) Pending charges Prior criminal history History of violence Active CJ status (e.g. pretrial, probation, parole) History of FTA Residential stability Employment stability Substance abuse

Can use of actuarial risk-assessment tools improve current decision making? Share of defendants within each release category with specific risk factor Risk Category Specific Risk Factor Non-financial release Released on bail Held on bail Capacity release Current charge Current charge violent offense 10.0% 20.5% 26.1% ? Criminal History 3 or more prior arrests 51.9% 54.3% 75.2% Prior FTAs 28.9% 24.9% 40.0% Source: State Court Processing Statistics: California counties 2000-2009, unweighted

Recommendations Reduce inflow of “lower risk” defendants using front end risk based assessment tool If capacity releases necessary, ensure outflow of unsentenced population is risk-based Educate stakeholders on how bail is set, why it varies across counties, whether alternatives for the indigent are available, and potential risk to public safety Conduct a jail population assessment, evaluate pretrial practices (may require investment in data collection, data sharing and staff training)

Notes on the use of these slides These slides were created to accompany a presentation. They do not include full documentation of sources, data samples, methods, and interpretations. To avoid misinterpretations, please contact: Sonya Tafoya(tafoya@ppic.org; 415-291-4470) Thank you for your interest in this work.

California Counties Sampled in SCPS 2000-2009 2002 2004 2006 2009 Alameda x   Contra Costa Los Angeles Orange Riverside San Bernardino San Diego San Mateo Santa Clara Ventura N=17,311 Source: State Court Processing Statistics: California counties 2000-2009