Published: November 18, 2009 11:42 pm      

Burchett: Bail program will be beneficial

CATLETTSBURG — Local officials say they’re pleased that Boyd County was chosen to participate in a test program aimed at reducing jail overcrowding and operating costs by allowing people accused of certain non-violent crimes to post bond immediately and avoid being locked up.

Boyd was one of nine counties the Kentucky Supreme Court selected for the initiative, which will begin Jan. 1 and run for a year. The program could be expanded statewide if it proves successful.

Under the program, people arrested on more than 700 mostly misdemeanor charges will be allowed to post bail immediately and go home without having to wait in jail to see a judge or a pre-trial officer.

Boyd County Jailer Joe Burchett said he saw the immediate bail plan as being beneficial for the jail and for individuals whose offenses don’t really warrant them having to be locked up for extended periods.

“It will be less work for us, and will help some of these people get out a little quicker,” Burchett said Wednesday.

In some instances — long holiday weekends being a prime example — people accused of minor offenses have to wait in jail for several days for their bonds to be set because no one with the authority to do so is available, Burchett said. The new initiative will help alleviate that situation, he said.

Clearing the jail of people who really don’t really need to be there will help cut down on overcrowding and also could free up space to house state and federal inmates, whom the county is paid for holding, Burchett said.

The state Department of Corrections has capped the population of the Boyd lockup at 220 inmates, Burchett said. This past summer, the DOC removed all state and federal prisoners from the facility due to the overcrowded conditions there.

The program makes jail personnel responsible for setting and collecting bonds for nonviolent offenders, under guidelines set by the state. According to Burchett, classes will be held at the jail prior to January to ensure that all his deputies are trained in how the program works.

The list of offenses for which people will be eligible to post bail immediately is 35 pages long and includes mostly misdemeanors, among them marijuana possession, prostitution, minor traffic violations and shoplifting. It also includes 24 first-offense felony theft charges, ranging from mail theft to stealing electrical service.

Those accused of violent offenses won’t be eligible. The program guidelines also allow jail personnel to defer bail decisions to judges in cases they believe warrant further consideration.

The state Administrative Office of the Courts has estimated that the Supreme Court’s initiative could save Kentucky more than $400,000 a day.

The other counties chosen by the high court for the program were Bell, Boone, Butler, Campbell, Edmonson, Kenton, Ohio and Pike.