Leon County Report: Pretrial Release Program Saved $13 Mill in 2018

A Leon County report states that the Supervised Pretrial Release Program (SPRP) has saved $13,539,062 in jail costs by diverting defendants into the program during 2018.

The Leon County’s SPRP is an alternative to monetary bail for defendants who are likely to appear in court and unlikely to present a danger to the community if released.

During 2018, the report indicates that 515 defendants were granted non-secured release to the Supervised Pretrial Division and an additional 817 defendants, who were also required to post a bond, were accepted into the Division.

The reports states that the average daily operating cost of the jail per inmate was $81.34. The cost of using the SPRP as an alternative cost is $6.10 per day.

Using this information, the report concludes that the program diverted an estimated total of 179,945 inmate days from the Leon County Detention Facility, which resulted in annual savings of $13,539,062.

Listed below is a summary of Supervised Pretrial Release Program activities during 2018:

• A total of 10,014 defendants were arrested and booked into the Leon County Detention Facility; of that total 2,029 were interviewed by Pretrial Release staff, (captured personal, demographic, and criminal history information).

• Of the 2,029 interviewed, 1,018 were further evaluated for release in accordance with criteria outlined in the Administrative Order 2018-06.

• 1,332 defendants were placed into the Supervised Pretrial Release Program. This figure represents an additional 148 defendants (11%) more than the total supervised during the previous year.

• Of the 1,332 accepted into the supervised pretrial release program, 70 % or 931 of the supervised defendants had no violations, were still enrolled, or had completed the program as of the end of the calendar year. The remainder, 30% or 401, of the supervised defendants violated the pretrial release conditions.

• Of the total violated, 18% were for technical reasons such as failing to abstain from or testing positive for illegal drugs or alcohol or failing to adhere to curfew, 5% committed a new law offense and 7% failed to appear for a court hearing.