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Home My WebLink AboutJuly 28, 2011 MinutesPUBLIC :AFETY COORDINATING COUNCIL Minutes of Meeting July 28, 2011 Convened 3:40 p.m. Adiowrnedi 4:15 p.m. CALL TO ORDER Commissioner Craft called the meeting to order at 3:40 p.m. in the Commission Chambers, 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce, Florida. ROLL CALL Roll call was taken. Member: Pre=enib~ Chairman, Chris Craft Suzanne Caudell, CORE Program Thomas Mark, Department of Corrections Ken Mascara, Sheriff of SLC Major Pat Tighe, SLC SO Judge Philip 1. Vacucci,l9t" Circuit Me~nberf Absenite Janet Collins, Bail Association Bruce Colton, State Attorney Diamond Litty, Public Defender John Romano, New Horizons Chief Judge Steve Levin,l9t" Circuit Oti~erf Pre:enik~ Mark Godwin, SLC Criminal Justice Coordinator Ethel Rowland, Taxpayer Broderickr Underwood, SLC Analyst Scott Harloff, CORE Program Lisa Savage, SLC Pre-Trial Program William McMahon, SLC SO Bob Quam, TCFTC/Geo Care Michelle Bratine, SAMH Jack K. Miller, Magellan Health Trevor Morganti, SLC SO Chris Harris, Magellan Health Anthony Westbury, Scripts Treasure Coast Eric Phaler, BOCC Adam Fetterman, SLC SO APPROVAL OF MINUTEfe The minutes from May 26, 2011 were unanimously approved. Pwblie fafety Coordinating Coan~il July =8, =Ot1 Page Z UPDATE by fLC fherriff's Office- Mayor Tighe/fheriff Ma:eara: Major Tighe reported the jail population was at 1253 which was up 116 from May's report. There are over 100 confirmed gang members and 57 US Marshals housed in the jail. In addition, he reported 23 - 25% of the population is mentally ill and 12 to 15% is misdemeanor vs. felony. Major Tighe spoke of a positive meeting he recently had concerning Notice to Appear (NTA). There has been a process in place for the past six years regarding NTA and why they get disqualified. The top three reasons for the first appearance misdemeanor dockzet sheets to be NTA disqualified are as follows: Lacks of ID upon arrest with an address, unemployment, and mental health status. Questions arose regarding what factors may cause the spikze in jail population during summertime. Chairman Craft asked Marks Godwin and Mr. Underwood, C11S Analyst to looks into the data and compare it to this time last year. Chairman Craft had a concern about the Judges not being on the bench for two weekts due to conferences and vacation time. Judge Yacucci explained the coverage among the Judges during those times. UPDATE by Criminal Ja=tiee Coordinator- Marb Godwin Mr. Godwin reviewed and discussed the Average Monthly Inmate Population Report. Mr. Markz, Circuit Administrator (C-19) for FL Department of Children and Families reported a spikre in felony cases. Meanwhile Suzanne Caudell, Executive Director for CORE Probation reported the case load being the lowest in the past ten years for misdemeanor. Sheriff Mascara spokze briefly on the topic of Drug Court sanctions. He raised the question that maybe there can be more options than 24 hours in jail if someone tests positive for drugs. Mr. Godwin commented on the status of the additional courtrooms which are scheduled to be finished in January. He also announced the St. Lucie County Drug Screening Lab has expanded into Okzeechobee as of July. Pretrial provided an update on a savings Lisa Savage, Program Manager, was able to negotiate with their GPS service. This was the second negotiation bringing the past negotiated price of $5.00 per day to $4.50 per day for satellite trackting. It was originally $6.00 per day per person on the GPS monitoring unit. Publie fafeiby Coordinating Council duly 28, 2011 Page 3 JUDICIAL UPDATE -None OLD BUtINEif -None NEW BUfINE=f~ Chairman Craft asked Major Tighe to explain an idea of hiring a facilitator to possibly twealz the process of information flow within the system. It was explained that a staff member from each branch of the system would meet with a paid facilitator and discuss the process as it works presently. It was estimated to take three months for the facilitator to gather the information and submit a proposal to the constitutional officers for a new policy to change the process of the current system. Marla Godwin was asked to inquire about the costs for a facilitator. Another suggestion was discussed in regards to maybe having a retired Senior Judge at the jail to handle pleas. Palm Beach County has assigned a Judge to their jail but it was noted that they practice Differential Case Management and their facilities are a larger scale in comparison to St. Lucie County. Mr. Godwin recognized our CJIS Analyst, Mr. Underwood, for his efforts in facilitating the Data Pilot Program. Mr. Underwood had the cooperation of a Judge and Court Administration on that project. Electronic filing is now possible for the Attorney's to file pleas or have access to the Judges Calendar. Mary Godwin also reported that Florida Association of Counties was on board with the idea of the State-wide Best Practices meeting. The meeting was targeted for the end of October. Chairman Craft said, "So I Know everyone has read the paper over the jail issue. The Sheriff and I, Major Tighe and Mark and everybody else are in discussions and will come to the best resolution for the citizens of St. Lucie County." Sheriff Mascara added, "Ditto." AD~OURNMENTe Chairman Craft adjourned the meeting at 4:15 p.m. Submitted by, Carlene Busse THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE HELD August 25, 2011 Pablit fafety Coordinating Coaneil Daly 28, 2011 Page 4 St. Lucie County Criminal Justice System Average Monthly Inmate Population Clearance Rate Measure Goal = 100% 2011 Rate 2011 180 Day Rule 37% January February March April May June July