Pretrial Justice in Lincoln County is a newly established program which added its first defendants on Monday October 15, 2018.
Research indicates that harm can be done to defendants who are unnecessarily detained prior to trial. Detained defendants can suffer loss of employment and housing, become separated from loved ones, experience family disruption, have higher odds of recidivism and receive harsher sentences than similarly situated defendants who are released from jail prior to their trial. The goals of the Lincoln County Pretrial Justice Program are:
- Help courts make informed bail decisions, including nonfinancial options for release of appropriate defendants;
- Ensure that release options are realistic, enforceable, measurable and,
- Promote maximized pretrial release appearances, public safety and compliance outcomes.
The program operates on the presumption that individuals are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Two pretrial specialist positions were approved through the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners to provide recommendations to the courts. These recommendations will occur after the pretrial specialist has verified information pertinent to the defendant’s possible release. If approved for release into this program, these defendants will be monitored by the pretrial specialist to ensure they are following the conditions as outlined by the Judge. They will receive timely phone reminders prior to their court appearances.
The Lincoln County Jail currently has approximately 50% of the inmate population on pretrial status. Through the process of building the pretrial justice program, the hope will be to reduce this percentage to then allow beds for those who need to remain in custody.
“I am very excited Lincoln County is starting the Pretrial Justice Program” stated Sheriff Curtis Landers. “The Pretrial Justice Program is an effective way to manage the inmate population in the jail to prevent overcrowding while making sure people show up for court and do not commit further crimes” said Sheriff Landers.
###
Prepared by:
Jamie Russell
Jail Commander
541-265-0701
jrussell@co.lincoln.or.us