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RES- 2018 -025 <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />RESOLUTION SUPPORTING 3DaysCountTM — A NATIONWIDE EFFORT TO MAKE <br />COMMUNITIES SAFER AND ENSURE BETTEROUTCOMES FOR ALL BY APPLYING <br />COMMON SENSE SOLUTIONS TO WIDESPREAD PRETRIALJUSTICE CHALLENGES <br />WHEREAS, nearly 12 millionpeople are booked into United States jails each year, mostly for <br />nonviolent misdemeanors; and <br />WHEREAS, more than60 percent of people in jail are not convicted — detainedbefore trial largely <br />because they are too poor to post even small money bond amounts — costing local governments a <br />nationwide aggregate of nearly $14 billion annually in incarceration expenses; and <br />WHEREAS, pretrial detention is deeply disruptive topeople's livesand can have serious <br />consequences, from interrupted education and medical treatment to lost jobs, housing, and even <br />custody of children; and <br />WHEREAS, the money bail system places a disproportionate and unfair burden on peopleof color, <br />who, on average, face higher bail amounts even as they have fewer resources as a resultof <br />chronic, systemic exclusion from economicopportunity; and <br />WHEREAS, research shows thatwhen people who are most likely to appear in court and stay out <br />oftrouble are detained for even three days, they become morelikely to be arrested for new criminal <br />activity during the pretrial period compared to similar individualsreleased within just 24 hours; and <br />WHEREAS, the money bail system allows nearly half of those least likelyto succeed on pretrial <br />release to quickly buy their release from jailwith little to no meaningfulsupport or supervision, <br />without regard for the needs ofvictims, witnesses, and the broader community; and <br />WHEREAS, the goalsof 3DaysCountTm are tohelp states reduce unnecessary arrests by <br />expanding the use of citations or summons, replace money bail with non - financial, least restrictive <br />conditions, restrictdetention to thesmall number ofpeople for whom no condition or combination of <br />conditions can reasonably assureappearance in court and public safety, and reduce disparity within <br />the pretrial justice system; and <br />WHEREAS, Orange County has alreadyimplemented many of therecommendations of the Pretrial <br />Justice Institute including internalizingthe PretrialReleaseprogram in the CriminalJustice <br />Resource Department, using an evidence -based pretrial risk assessment tool, ensuring the <br />presence of defense counsel at firstappearances, increasing opportunities for pre- arrest diversion, <br />employing mentalhealth professionals to work directly with individualsincarcerated at ourjail to <br />assess andrefer to treatment in the community and continuing to collect data and measure <br />performance on our efforts; <br />NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the OrangeCounty Board of Commissioners hereby <br />endorses the goals of 3DaysCountTM; and <br />BEIT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Orange County Board of Commissioners strongly urges our <br />state -level stakeholders and governmentleaders to apply to join thePretrial Justice Institute's <br />3DaysCountTM initiative. <br />This the 17 th day of April 2018. <br />20