Minutes 04-17-2018 - Laserfiche WebLink

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21 WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of Commissioners have made tremendous investments in public education, affordable housing, human services, economic development and public safety to enhance the quality of life for all County residents; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, do hereby proclaim April 2018 as County Government Month and encourage all County officials, employees, schools and residents to participate in county government celebration activities. This the 17th day of April, 2018. A motion was made by Commissioner Price, seconded by Commissioner McKee for the Board to approve and authorize the Chair to sign the proclamation. VOTE: UNANIMOUS e. Resolution in Support of 3DaysCount™ The Board considered voting to approve a Resolution in Support of 3DaysCount™ – A Nationwide Effort To Make Communities Safer And Ensure Better Outcomes For All By Applying Common Sense Solutions To Widespread Pretrial Justice Challenges. Cait Fenhagen, Criminal Justice Resource Director, reviewed the information below: BACKGROUND: At the April 3, 2018 Board meeting, the Board voiced an interest in considering a Resolution in Support of 3DaysCount™ – A Nationwide Effort To Make Communities Safer And Ensure Better Outcomes For All By Applying Common Sense Solutions To Widespread Pretrial Justice Challenges. 3DaysCount™ is an initiative of the Pretrial Justice Institute’s. Commissioner Renee Price provided a sample resolution as the basis for the attached resolution for Board consideration. Nearly 12 million people are booked into United States jails each year, mostly for nonviolent misdemeanors, and a majority is detained before trial largely because they are too poor to post even small money bond amounts – costing local governments a nationwide aggregate of nearly $14 billion annually in incarceration expenses. Pretrial detention is also deeply disruptive to people’s lives and can have serious consequences, from interrupted education and medical treatment to lost jobs, housing, and even custody of children. Research also shows that when people who are most likely to appear in court and stay out of trouble are detained for even three days, they become more likely to be arrested for new criminal activity during the pretrial period compared to similar individuals released within just 24 hours. The goals of 3DaysCount™ are to help states reduce unnecessary arrests by expanding the use of citations or summons, replace money bail with non-financial, least restrictive conditions, restrict detention to the small number of people for whom no condition or combination of conditions can reasonably assure appearance in court and public safety, and reduce disparity within the pretrial justice system. Orange County has already implemented many of the recommendations of the Pretrial Justice Institute including: • internalizing the Pretrial Release program in the Criminal Justice Resource Department • using an evidence-based pretrial risk assessment tool • ensuring the presence of defense counsel at first appearances