05/21/1986 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e Ms. Wooten pointed out that a change in the allocation would be a policy change. Mr. Salmony said most of the criminal justice programs are over-utilized. He discussed ways in which the pre-sentence investigations can be expedited. Mr. Gleason said the City's allocation of $400,000 has been a general one. There has never been a contract for a specific number of jail spaces. The court system is the only legal intervention system the community has. Conse- quently, the community deals with chronic street problems by making them crim- inal. The only way to deal with transients who have mental health, alcohol, and drug problems is to wait until the behavior is criminal and then the people enter the criminal justice system. He said that about half of the problems the police deal with are social problems. Responding to a request from Mr. Miller for a discussion of the City's needs, Mr. Gleason said the Police Department response to calls that are Priority #1 or #2 is as good as ever and those priorities usually result in felony charges. In those cases, the City enforces State laws, the offenders are housed in the County jail, and the State pays for them. Mr. Gleason said that about 50 percent of the City's police activity involves municipal crimes or anti-social behavior such as begging, which frightens many people. He said offenders may be cited or taken to the County jail. If a person is cited and does not appear in Municipal Court, a warrant is issued and the person is arrested and taken to the jail. He emphasized that the Mun- icipal Court is very important in the City's efforts to mitigate people's fears of anti-social behavior. He said the City places very few people in maximum security for a long term, but the City needs to confine about 25 or 30 people at a time for criminal or anti-social behavior. He said the City has been paying a high price for jail service and using spaces that should be used by people charged with more serious offenses. He said the City needs a system that does not exist. It needs a minimum security facility for holding people. Mr. Gleason said the first discussions to solve the jail crisis involved the construction of a temporary facility financed and used partly by the City and partly by the State. Now, he said, it is obvious that no other jurisdiction will help finance a temporary facility and he will not recommend that the City finance it alone because many of the people arrested by City police are charged with felonies. He said he may recommend that the City try to negoti- ate a change in the maximum number of people who can be housed in the County jailor obtain jail spaces in another county. He would like to have five to seven minimum security spaces and one or two maximum security spaces so muni- cipal judges can sentence people directly to jail if necessary and have a full range of alternative services. Lane County Commissioner John Ball was in the audience. He commented that a temporary facility is technically and financially feasible. He said the Lane County Board of Commissioners probably would not borrow funds to build the facility and Mr. Gleason said the council probably would not use $400,000 to solve regional and State jail problems. He said the council must decide if building a temporary facility is the best use of the City's $400,000. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 21, 1986 Page 4