At last week’s National Association of Counties (NACo) annual meeting in Pittsburgh, the NACo Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee approved a “Resolution in Support of Continuous Alcohol Monitoring for Pre-Trial Populations” at the 2012 Annual Conference and Exposition.
The resolution, sponsored by Multnomah County Commissioner Judy Shiprack and passed by members of the steering committee, encourages counties to integrate Continuous Alcohol Monitoring (CAM) technology into their jail management strategies, in particular for defendants incarcerated during pre-trial stages of case adjudication.
Prior to passage of the resolution, members of the steering committee heard from a distinguished panel of county commissioners. The panel provided perspectives on “Smart Justice” and the role that CAM plays in their respective criminal justice systems. I was honored to be invited to participate in this panel, representing AMS, the largest provider of CAM technology in the world.
Shiprack described how the use of standardized risk instruments in both the pre-trial and probation setting guide the supervision of offenders at the county level. She also referred to the importance of balancing the intensity of monitoring to the cost of monitoring, which is primarily born by the offender.
Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Brooks spoke about the use of SCRAM CAM technology in conjunction with integrated supervision strategies that are used in his county, focusing on the pre-trial use of CAM. He addressed the county’s use of an offender-pay model, which requires offenders to participate in the cost of their monitoring, rather than taxpayers. Brooks concluded his comments by stressing the importance of sobriety in relation to the impact on the offender, his or her family, and the community as a whole.
The NACo resolution will be effective for a year and is intended to raise awareness of the issues associated with jail overcrowding specifically, with pre-trial populations.
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