HomeMy WebLinkAbout20140186.tiffWELD COUNTY
CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
Date: October 8, 2013
Present: Commissioner William Garcia, Judge Michele Meyer, Karen Salaz, Matt Elbe,
Doug Erler, Kendall Alexander, Dionne Sund, Barry Wood, JD Pyatt, Sterling
Geesaman, Jack McGrath, Jim Burack, Jerry Green, Michael McCormick, Jim
Mersen, Jack Statler, Rick Dill, Esperanza Ortiz, Shelly Cox, Cindy Villegas, and
Kamie Cooley
Excused: Judge Hartmann, Judge Quammen
Miscellaneous - Chair, Judge Hartmann had requested that in his absence, Vice Chair, Doug
Erler chair this meeting. Doug called the meeting to order at 12:05 p.m.
Introductions of attendees.
1. Meeting Minutes:
A. The July meeting minutes were accepted with no changes. Cindy Villegas moved
to approve the minutes, Jack McGrath seconded; motion passed.
2. Subcommittee Reports:
A. Sheriff's Office Jail Reports — Sterling Geesaman reported on Weld County Jail
Admission Information, Offender Supervision Bureau Trend Charts, and YTD
Adult Custody Summary Reports. He reported that the average length of stay has
decreased due to the Department of Corrections backlog changes, which went into
affect August 31, 2013. He reported on the average rate of admissions by day of
the week, noting that Wednesday's tend to be the highest book -in days. Doug
Erler and Rick Dill pointed out weekends are not necessarily peak days for the
jail. Sterling indicated that transports to and from the jail on Wednesday's are
what typically increase the population numbers mid week. Judge Meyer asked
how often transports were being done, Sterling said once a day. Sterling also
reported on Work Release utilization, noting the overall success rate has
decreased by 4% since 2012 and the average daily population is 187 offenders per
day. Doug asked if the regressions being tracked at Work Release could be
identified by type. Sterling said most regressions are due to technical violations.
Karen Salaz asked what the daily charge for Work Release residents is; Sterling
reported $14/day. Jim Mersen asked if offenders ordered to participate in
electronic home monitoring incurred additional charges; Sterling said no. Sterling
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noted that management has changed at Work Release, as the group had previously
welcomed Commander, Ryan Broswell to the CJAC at its July meeting.
B. Kamie Cooley from Justice Services reported on statistics for Pretrial Services for
the period of January -September, 2013. Staff assessed at the jail for bond setting
on average 139 defendants per month, completed 145 supervision intakes (by
defendant) and 152 intakes (by case) per month. She also reported that on
average, Pretrial Services closed 180 cases per month and maintained a 94.4%
supervision public safety rate (5.6% defendants committed some kind of alleged
new criminal offense) and an 87.6% court appearance rate (12.4% defendants
failed to appear for a court hearing and in which a warrant was issued). Finally,
she reported the percentage of Complaint Affidavits resulting in a Motion for
Revocation of Bond only reflected cases where a Complaint Affidavit was
submitted by Pretrial Services to the DA's Office.
4. Mental Health/Criminal Justice Subcommittee Update:
A. Chair of this subcommittee, Kendall Alexander from North Range Behavioral
Health (NRBH) presented on an RFP that NRBH had recently submitted to the
Colorado Department of Behavioral Health. He explained that NRBH applied for
a portion of the RFP, and so far, DBH has not notified agencies on awarded funds.
He explained that the RFP seeks in part, to establish crisis stabilization services
(more nurse/medical assistance, provide peer services specialists, enhance face-to-
face psychology coverage, provide walk-in services, enhance observation
capabilities, provide the community with additional mental health training, and
possibly provide transportation and in -home services). Jack Statler reported on
Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training for law enforcement and current ride -
along events through NRBH and the Greeley Police Department (GPD), and how
this RFP may enhance these services. Kendall reported on the sub -committee's
possible responsibilities in relation to the RFP, stating protocols could be
established, which could include collecting and presenting data and general
oversight. The Mental Health/Criminal Justice Subcommittee for the CJAC could
possibly serve in this capacity. Kendall then proceeded to give CJAC attendees
an update of its work. At the July meeting, CJAC members were informed of the
subcommittees work identifying strengths and weaknesses of our local criminal
justice system to serve persons seeking resources in relation to mental illness.
From that process, the CJAC gave direction to the subcommittee to begin forming
recommendations to focus on. The sub -committee has identified transportation
assistance, medication assistance and monitoring, and housing resources as the
most important areas to focus on. To assist in these areas, the subcommittee
recommends that a "central hub of services program" be created. Such a program
could be a collaborative effort between agencies of which respective clientele
could use. A working name for such a program is needed. Dionne Sund from
ICCS (Community Corrections) suggested the sub -committee reach out to
Larimer County for further direction, as Larimer County currently provides this
type of service in their community. The group discussed the lack of resources in
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Weld County and the value of a centrally located program could provide. Jack
McGrath mentioned the Health Alliance might be in the process of proposing a
similar action within the community. Members are in support of the idea;
Commissioner Garcia suggested that the committee begin to sort out details of
this program so that it can become understandable to the Board of County
Commissioners, especially if support by the Board would be later requested by
the CJAC. Shelly Cox from NCMC mentioned that our community is already
funding some services and resources that could be better utilized in a centralized
facility, and believed the opportunity would give the community the ability to
access resources more economically. Doug commented that the subcommittee
understands that a "business case" is needed and clarified to attendees that the
goal of Kendall's update was simply to receive direction from the CJAC that
working on such a plan is agreeable by this larger group. Attendees felt this
initiative was worth further evaluation. The subcommittee will continue to meet
and will present more information at the January 2014 meeting.
5. Roundtable
Doug Erler suggested that attendees provide updates on the impact of the recent floods to
their agencies. Jack McGrath from the Sheriffs Office reported that while criminal
activity decreased during this period it might pick up due to the vulnerability of certain
areas and segments of our population. Jack Statler from GPD mentioned that the Greeley
Recreation Center was opened for displaced citizens and stated that GPD paid for
overtime costs due to providing assistance for other communities within the County.
Commissioner Garcia thanked all agencies and departments present for their hard work
during the disaster. Michael McCormick from NRBH reported on a FEMA Grant NRBH
had received, stating his agency will be hiring fourteen (14) full time employees this
month to assist with specializing in outreach. Other roundtable discussion - Shelly Cox
from NCMC discussed the barriers North Colorado Medical Center has faced due to
PsychCare closing last year. She also thanked the Weld County Sheriff's Department for
their on -going support and communication while facing these barriers. Jim Mersen
reported the Public Defender's office has moved to the third floor of the Chase Bank
Building. JD Pyatt from Parole reported that their office is facing challenges placing
homeless parolees. Jerry Green from Probation and member of the Community
Corrections Board urged JD and his office to make more referrals to ICCS for placement
of these parolees at the community corrections facility.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:25 PM. The next meeting of
the CJAC is Tuesday January 14, 2014 @ 12:00 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Kamie Cooley, Weld County Justice Services Division
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