League of Women Voters of the Piedmont Triad Jail Study

Pre-trial Release Options and Alternatives to Incarceration

There are two types of alternatives to incarceration  programs. Pre-trial release options which can reduce the jail population and post-trial alternative programs that keep non-violent offenders out of jail or prison. 8500 inmates are currently screened at first appearance.

In 1994 due to an increase in prison and jail populations, two criminal justice programs were initiated in North Carolina: the Sentenced Structuring procedures and the NC State County Criminal Justice Partnership Act.  The Criminal justice partnership act was designed to supplement community based corrections programs. The purposes of the partnership are to lower criminal justice system costs and to reduce offender recidivism. All counties did a self-study and then applied for grants to establish programs that would provide alternatives to incarceration. These alternatives are for non-violent offenders, usually those with substance abuse arrests.

Alternative programs are operated by the county and a variety of private, non-profit agencies. The county contracts with some agencies and some agencies charge a fee to those they serve. Some agencies receive grants. Offenders are given the option, in some cases, to enter one or another of the programs, in lieu of going to jail or prison.

All counties in the state have a first offenders program. Others who qualify for alternatives are those with minor criminal records. Alternatives can be pre or post trial.

Are the alternative programs effective?  Success rates are self-reported for the most part. We chatted with some of those operating programs to try to determine if there were any long term studies of their clients. We could not establish that there were. The Kimme report has uneven data on the alternatives, but when success rates are reported they are based on successful completion of the program AND in some cases one year or less of compliance. Compliance frequently consists of no illegal substance  or alcohol abuse.

Most of the programs are relatively low budget and run with small staffs.  Some of the costs are borne by the offenders, ie the offenders in the programs are charged a fee. Offenders are given the choice as to whether or not to participate in an alternative program. One question is whether or not the programs actually last long enough to make a lasting change. On the other hand, those in charge of programs have said that the offenders must want to change and must want to work at the changes needed. I quote, "You help those you can."  Major Deborah Montgomery of the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department agreed that offenders must want to change, and she has seen “some remarkable results.”

An article released in late September states that some forced programs do work, however. That is if a person is made to attend a program, there can be success.

The alternative programs in Guilford County demonstrate a variety of approaches.

One alternative program in Guilford County is called Outer Limits. It has been in existence for five years and claims an 85% success rate, based on completion of the volunteer service a participating person does. This program is for first offenders and if those who have been through the program later are in trouble again, the director does not know because at that point those people are second offenders. The program handles both adults and youth, costs $200 per person and the object is change and paying a debt to society by community service. This organization has only three employees. Sometimes the offenders do their volunteer service in the Outer Limits office, helping with filing and other tasks. One interesting thing we learned is that some victims do not wish the offenders to have a harsh punishment inflicted by the courts and they request an alternative. Some referrals are made from Superior Court.

Guilford's Day Reporting Center took two years to implement and has been compared in a scholarly paper to one in Davidson County. The comparison shows that offenders in one county are much different from offenders in another county and the outcomes are thus quite different. Guilford County has many more contact hours with the clients, but the clients are unemployed and under-educated. 36 of 97 people completed the program in 2002 while only 9 of 74 completed the program in 2003-4.

Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime is 50% successful where success is defined as abstinence from illicit substance use 90 days prior to discharge, having a legitimate source of income or being a full time student without further criminal convictions.

The Felony Drug Diversion Program had a 44% success rate in 2003-4.

Malachi House has a 46% success rate which is measured by one year of sobriety after spending one year in the program. The clients of this program work and income comes into the program through the work contracts. The program gets a few grants and is self-sufficient.

Delancey Street is totally self-sufficient and claims a 75% success rate.

These two programs welcome graduates back at any time and sometimes at Delancy Street the graduates provide programs for those currently in the program. The Delancy Street residents are quite busy with little time for anything outside the program.

Project Pride is available in the High Point jail. It is not really an alternative since the participants are in jail. The program addresses substance abuse issues. All participants are housed on the same floor. The crowding in the jail prevents expansion of the 30 day program. Only one person is employed in the program. The success rate is over 90%. Success is completion of the program.

The Guilford County Drug Treatment Court is supposed to help break the cycle

of drug addiction and criminality. This program targets prison bound chronic drug users. The court received just under a half million dollars as part of a three year grant from the US Dept of Justice. The program is a minimum of 12 months. In the first two years, 8 clients graduated. The E. Raymond Alexander Drug Treatment Court had a success rate of fewer than one in six.

Another program deals with parents who are not supporting their dependent children. The Guilford County Child Support Enforcement tries to collect payments due. The case load is bigger than any other: 23,202 in 2004. $34,354,582 was collected in 2004. On a jail snapshot day in 2005, there were 61 cases of non-support parents in jail, but 70% of those had other charges and thus were ineligible for an alternative program.

Different types of alternatives are “physical knowledge” devices. When appropriate to use Guilford county uses Global Positioning System devices, electronic house arrest and electronic monitoring are  efforts to reduce the number of persons housed in the jails.

With such a large variety of alternatives with differing time periods of services offered and different clientele it is hard to know how successful alternatives are. They are less costly than jail time and the participants are actively engaged in an activity, frequently performing a service to the community.

A 30% drop in average daily population (ADP) in the jails is needed; enhancing and expanding alternatives would result in an 8% drop.

There is definitely a place for alternatives since all offenders are not the same, but the alternatives in the Kimme report estimate cannot bring about the desired drop in ADP.

We should note that 49% of those in jail have already tried an alternative or have been in jail previously. §