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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPSCC 012019 Minutes PUBLIC SAFETY COORDINATING COUNCIL Minutes of Meeting January 31, 2019 Convened: 3:36 p.m. Adjourned: 3:56 p.m. CALL TO ORDER Commissioner Townsend called the meeting to order at 3:29 p.m. in Conference Rm 3, 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce, Florida. ROLL CALL Roll call was taken. Members Present: Commissioner Cathy Townsend, BOCC Chief Judge Elizabeth Metzger, 19th Circuit Bruce Colton, State Attorney Mike Davis, Florida Department of Correction Suzanne Caudell, CORE Program Mr. Timothy Kozlowski, SLC Bail Bond Assoc. Members Excused: Diamond Litty, Public Defender George Shopland, New Horizons Judge Phillip J. Yacucci, 19th Circuit Ken Mascara, Sheriff of SLC Others Present: Roy P. Hudson, SLC Atty/CJD Broderick Underwood, SLC Atty/CJD Allison Duffy, SLC Atty/CJD Robert Curry, SLC Atty/CJD Robert Worcester, SLC Atty/CJD William Lawhorn, SLSO Trevor Morganti, SLSO Rose Best, 2nd Chance Mental Health Center Public Safety Coordinating Council January 31, 2019 Page 2 APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes from October 25, 2018 were unanimously approved. UPDATE by SLC Sherriff’s Office- Captain William Lawhorn Captain Lawhorn reported the current population to be 1297 with 41 Federal Inmates. He reported the annual average is 1297 with 44 Federal Inmates. He explained they have stopped the distribution of the population report since the beginning of the year which usually goes out to the criminal justice community. On January 12, 2019 they changed over to a new Jail Management System and some of the numbers reported on the first report generated did not add up. The last report indicated the jail holding about 38% of the population being misdemeanors and this was not accurate. Approximately 12% of the population is misdemeanors with the rest being felony and a few holds for other counties. Captain Lawhorn and Trevor Morganti are working on manually validating the data being reported and hope to have the reports out again by the end of the month. Bruce Colton added that in reviewing the jail populations over the last couple of weeks it was noted that Saint Lucie County jail has the lowest percentage of non-sentenced misdemeanors awaiting trial out of the four counties. Captain Lawhorn shared that the Sheriff has requested the jail send Diamond Litty a weekly list of smaller misdemeanors to ensure they can move the lower crimes out. Commissioner To wnsend expressed her appreciation of their efforts as this was also a focus for her. Bruce Colton added that the County Judges also hold jail dockets and see defendants sooner if they are in jail to see if they can dispose of the case. Conversation ensued indicating everyone is on the same page regarding getting defendants out of jail who have smaller misdemeanors. Suzanne Caudell shared they have been monitoring 550 defendants circuit wide on the Misdemeanor Diversion Program. She indicated that 153 were in Saint Lucie County and they have been very compliant. UPDATE by Criminal Justice Coordinator-Roy Hudson Roy Hudson explained that a few years ago it was determined that cases would be assigned to individual Pretrial Officers for accountability with the optimum number being 25 cases per officer. Currently each Pretrial Officer has 31 cases and that is only counting those on GPS. The program is expanding and that is good for the county. Martin County Pretrial just peaked over 30 cases per week. Okeechobee is averaging in the low 20s weekly. Mr. Hudson went on to share that St. Lucie County Pretrial now has an office in the jail so a Pretrial Officer can be there during Public Safety Coordinating Council January 31, 2019 Page 3 First Appearance. This is saving 4 to 5 man hours per day. Pretrial will also have an office at the jail in Okeechobee so people can check in there as well. The program is working the same in all 3 counties. Mr. Hudson thanked Captain Lawhorn and jail staff for offering the space for Pretrial. Timothy Kozlowski shared how bail agents benefit from communication with Pretrial. He explained that 90% of defendants are on secured release. A challenge bail agents a re facing is not being notified when there is a Pretrial violation that leads to a warrant. Mr. Kozlowski went to on to say if bail agents could be notified of the violation it could be of benefit to everyone because they can most likely find the defendan t before they miss a court date. Robert Curry shared that he will be attending the April Bail Bonds Association and will be working with them to come up with a solution. Commissioner Townsend requ ested Mr. Kozlowski and Mr. Curry share any progress with the council in an upcoming meeting. OLD BUSINESS – None NEW BUSINESS – Commissioner Townsend spoke about her 2019 focus on working towards bringing a campus to this area. She shared it has been one of her goals since 2016 and she requested a Space Needs Analysis at the courthouse 2 years ago. Commissioner Townsend expressed that she would like to see the location of the current courthouse sold and have the campus where we are currently located on Virginia Avenue expanded to include a courthouse with space for the County Judges, Public Defender, and State Attorney. Chief Judge Metzger gave her support and shared there are issues at the current courthouse that cannot be fixed without money and space. The conversation continued with agreement from other in the room and the need to also move the jail was discussed. Commissioner Townsend indicated she is aware of space needs and severe plumbing issues at the jail. Captain Lawhorn added that he will work with Broderick to get relevant numbers on the mental health population at the jail as it drives up length of stay. He indicated the jail is running out of space as some of the population have to be the single occupant of a cell. Commissioner Townsend closed out the meeting by expressing her excitement in being part of the council and her desire to help make a difference. Comments – None ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Townsend adjourned the meeting at 3:56 p.m. Public Safety Coordinating Council January 31, 2019 Page 4 Submitted by, Kellie Harris THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE HELD April 25, 2019.