Legislature(2015 - 2016)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/11/2016 02:00 PM Senate JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB91 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 91 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 91-OMNIBUS CRIM LAW & PROCEDURE; CORRECTIONS
2:13:34 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE announced the consideration of SSSB 91. [This was
the second hearing and CSSSSB 91(STA) was before the committee.]
2:14:09 PM
SENATOR JOHN COGHILL, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska,
sponsor of SB 91, said today Mr. Shilling will present the
pretrial policies. He reported that the pretrial population has
grown by 81 percent in the last decade and comprises 28 percent
of the prison population. The reform recommendations for
pretrial services relate to citation vs. arrest, risk-based
release decision making, and pretrial supervision.
CHAIR MCGUIRE stated that the hearings on SB 91 are divided into
the four categories and today would focus on pretrial policies.
For each category the initial testimony would be invited and
public testimony would come later. She targeted the week of
March 21-25 to move the bill from committee.
She noted that in 2014, detainees whose most serious charge was
a nonviolent misdemeanor were staying an average of 9 days
during the pretrial period. This is 3 days longer than the
average stay in [2005]. At $142 per bed per day, that translates
to $210,000 per day for pretrial nonviolent offenders.
2:19:29 PM
JORDAN SHILLING, Staff, Senator John Coghill, delivered a
PowerPoint presentation of the Alaska Criminal Justice
Commission Pretrial Recommendations (1-4).
Recommendation 1: Expand the use of citations in place of arrest for
lower-level nonviolent offenses.
Mr. Shilling explained that the bill takes the form of a presumption
of nonarrest, but includes exceptions to ensure that officers have
the discretion to arrest an individual deemed a flight risk or danger
to the public.
SENATOR COGHILL noted that the citation vs. arrest provisions
are found in Sections 33-35.
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked Mr. Shilling to flag the areas where there
is pushback.
2:21:03 PM
MR. SHILLING said that even though law enforcement officers have
always had the discretion to issue a citation for lower-level
nonviolent crimes, 56 percent of pretrial admissions to prisons
are from nonviolent misdemeanor charges. He described Section 33
as the meat of the citation policy.
Law enforcement initially pushed back asking the sponsor to take
a careful look at where discretion was limited. The Senate State
Affairs Committee tightened these provisions and the sponsor's
team is continuing to actively work with groups on this, he
said.
He listed the following key findings of the commission:
• There has been 81 percent growth in the pretrial inmate
population in the last decade.
• 28 percent of the entire prison population are pretrial
detainees.
• Half of pretrial defendants are detained on nonviolent
charges, including misdemeanors.
• The bail system is tied to money, not risk.
Recommendation 2: Utilize risk-based pretrial release decision-
making.
MR.SHILLING explained that the two pretrial risk factors are the
risk of reoffending during the pretrial phase, and the risk of
not appearing in court. However, there currently isn't a
statistical tool to measure these risks. Instead, the
seriousness of the crime and the individual's criminal history
is considered. This is despite the fact that someone who
committed a serious crime isn't necessarily high risk and
someone who committed a low-level crime isn't necessarily low
risk. Thus, moving to a risk-based system makes sense, he said.
He displayed a chart showing that less than half of the
defendants sampled are released from prison pretrial, and only
12 percent are released on their own recognizance. He displayed
a second chart showing that two-thirds of defendants sampled
were required to pay monetary bond to attain release. Because
secured bond is ordered in a majority of cases, release is often
linked to the defendant's ability to pay rather that their risk
of pretrial failure.
2:23:25 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI joined the committee.
2:23:41 PM
MR. SHILLING displayed a chart that illustrates that monetary
bail leads to detention on low bond amounts. For example, 36
percent of defendants are able to post bond for secured bail
under $500, whereas 57 percent are unable to post bond for
secured bail between $500 and $999. He reported that the states
that do use pretrial risk assessments are seeing big benefits;
the research shows that using a pretrial risk assessment tool is
more predictive than professional judgment alone. That has been
the experience in Kentucky where 70 percent of their pretrial
defendants are released. The data shows that 90 percent appear
at their hearings and 92 percent don't commit a new crime
pretrial. This illustrates the potential to get the same or
better results by moving to a smarter, more risk-based approach.
The research also shows that pretrial detention for low-risk
defendants can lead to worse outcomes. If held longer than 24
hours, a pretrial defendant is more likely to engage in criminal
activity during the pretrial phase and more likely to recidivate
long term.
SB 91 envisions the Department of Corrections conducting a
pretrial risk assessment on every defendant pretrial. A release
decision will be made based on that risk assessment. He added,
"We feel very strongly, as did the commission, that a system
that isn't based on risk, is not serving the public well. It's
not serving the state's budget well either."
2:27:27 PM
Recommendation 3: Implement meaningful pretrial supervision.
Recommendation 4: Focus pretrial supervision resources on high-
risk defendants.
MR. SHILLING said the commission also recommended that the state
begin supervising defendants pretrial and that the supervision
resources be sharply focused on those most likely to reoffend.
Individuals who need minimal supervision might only receive
court date reminders from their pretrial supervisor. Individuals
who need basic supervision might receive phone calls, have in-
office appointments and field visits. Risky defendants released
pretrial would receive enhanced supervision. This would include
the 24/7 sobriety program, electronic monitoring, and very high
frequency visits. He said this is one of the large public safety
enhancements in SB 91, and a critical part of reinvestment.
2:29:19 PM
CRAIG RICHARDS, Attorney General, Department of Law (DOL),
described the commission process as a collaborative consensus
exercise that worked well. Anyone who felt strongly about a
policy had the ability to block it. He noted that DOL blocked a
number of suggestions it felt weren't good. Similarly, when
DOL's suggestions received pushback, they generally worked with
other commissioners to get them amended so that prosecutors were
comfortable. He provided examples. The original proposal had 5
grams rather than 2.5 grams as the trigger point for the change
in the drug classification. He noted that he personally pushed
to make the second DUI offense jailable. The original provision
for the suspended reentry of judgment decision wasn't acceptable
and Mr. Skidmore's redraft was ultimately adopted by the
commission. DOL also influenced the inflation provision on the
theft statutes and the sentence reductions for mandatory
minimums.
ATTORNEY GENERAL RICHARDS said that while it was a lot of time
and work, the Department of Law was ultimately able to buy in on
all the proposals.
2:32:09 PM
ATTORNEY GENERAL RICHARDS said the Department of Law believes
that pretrial supervision is a very good idea but the downside
is the cost of instituting another layer of organization into
the system. The hope is that it will be successful and he looks
forward to the legislature making a decision on worthwhile pre-
investment.
He confirmed that there was broad consensus that the existing
bail system could be better. It doesn't make sense when 50
percent of eligible inmates can't afford their bail,
particularly when the objective goal is to reduce bed counts
when possible. The approach taken to have a risk assessment on
some sort of grid also had wide consensus. DOL in particular is
appreciative that the system that's in place is one that will be
collaborative between the different groups and corrections.
2:33:48 PM
ATTORNEY GENERAL RICHARDS said there were a number of meetings
on the citation vs. arrest policy and there was some pushback
but they landed in a good spot. Creating a presumption of
nonarrest in most circumstances changes the habit of the
behavior, and the recent amendments empower law enforcement to
make arrests when they deem it's appropriate or for certain
classes of offenses.
He concluded that all the proposals are good and they have DOL's
support.
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked if there was any discussion about the
potential for discrimination in sentencing when the trigger
point for the drug classification is based on weight.
ATTORNEY GENERAL RICHARDS said the discussion came up but the
decision was to choose simplicity. He believes that is
reasonable but either policy could be defended.
SENATOR COGHILL highlighted that both are felonies and part of
the discussion was to differentiate between using because of an
addiction and trafficking at a higher level.
2:36:27 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE requested more thought on the topic because the
discussion in the marijuana legislation was dosage.
ATTORNEY GENERAL RICHARDS suggested the Controlled Substance
Advisory Committee would be a good resource.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI expressed interest in hearing DOL's opinion
on the bill as a whole and whether victim rights were adequately
included in developing the recommendations.
ATTORNEY GENERAL RICHARDS said the people that attended the
meetings had a voice and an opportunity to provide meaningful
input, whether they were on the commission, in the
subcommittees, or a member of the public.
2:40:33 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if he believes that this legislation
can pass and still protect the rights of both victims and the
public.
ATTORNEY GENERAL RICHARDS said he does. He related that he asked
Attorney General Sam Olens what didn't work in Georgia's
criminal justice initiative reforms, and his answer was that all
the policies worked and none needed to be changed. While there's
no guarantee that will happen here, he believes the commission
picked policies that will work.
2:41:51 PM
DEAN WILLIAMS, Commissioner Designee, Department of Corrections
(DOC), said he's fairly new to the commission that made these
recommendations, but he's been following this work in his other
occupation for several years. He noted that some of the reforms
in the juvenile system are somewhat similar, particularly in the
area of pretrial. The concept is to jail the people who
represent the most risk, and keep the people who represent low
risk out of jail and away from career criminals. The concept
makes sense in both systems, he said.
He highlighted that law enforcement, corrections, and safety
organizations are naturally risk averse because they don't want
anything to go wrong when they've been charged with protecting
the public. If there isn't an established process to analyze
what they're doing in terms of risk, they will play it overly
safe and become more cautious every day. The current pretrial
data clearly illustrates that is what has been happening with
pretrial inmates in Alaska and nationwide over the last 10
years.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS agreed with Mr. Shilling's assertion that
a pretrial risk assessment process has better outcomes than
relying on professional judgment. He pointed to the practice of
using halfway houses as an example of making decisions pretrial
to drive down the prison population numbers, but acknowledged
that he was a little nervous about that decision-making right
now. He related that it's difficult to convince staff to move
someone even if they seem low risk because it's their decision
if something goes wrong. The risk assessment tool will help
guide this decision-making and has the potential to be a huge
help to the department.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS alluded to data from other states and
emphasized that the right reforms in pretrial policies has the
potential to not only lower prison population numbers but also
lower crime rates. This naturally follows because the people in
jail need to be there and the people who get out will become
productive and stay out of trouble. These reforms aren't about
compromising safety but rather about enhancing safety for the
entire state. That's why the Department of Corrections supports
these reforms 110 percent, he said.
2:48:18 PM
GARY FOLGER, Commissioner, Department of Public Safety (DPS),
said he can't really add to what's already been said other than
that DPS supports SB 91.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if he believes that this legislation
can pass and still protect the rights of both victims and the
public.
COMMISSIONER FOLGER said he does. He added, "There will always
be detractors but, in the end, this is a good bill."
2:49:19 PM
KRIS SELL, Lieutenant, Juneau Police Department and Vice
President, Alaska Peace Officers Association, clarified that she
was speaking as a commission member and not for either JPD or
APOA. She noted that members from both organizations questioned
her thinking when SB 91 was introduced.
She described the proposed reforms as a huge, difficult and
slightly scary paradigm shift. She related that she grew up on a
farm in Montana during the "tough on crime" era and she entered
law enforcement wanting to be a part of that culture. However,
she soon realized that she was arresting the same people
repeatedly, and they were getting more dangerous and more anti-
social each time they went through the system. When she walked
through the jails she could understand why this was happening.
These people had very serious problems in their lives, but being
in jail was simply a grownup timeout with cable TV and three
meals a day. When these individuals were put back out on the
street the cycle started over again, but they were a little more
dangerous.
LT. SELL expressed particular interest in the risk assessment
tool for pretrial. It may help law enforcement understand what
is driving a person to commit crimes and then impose positive
and negative sanctions to change the behavior and get that
person back into the community. She noted that someone who grows
up in the system is more likely to have kids that will also be
arrested. She said Juneau has families that have a third
generation in the system which is a clear demonstration that
something isn't working. Citing the dismal recidivism statistic,
she expressed the desire to use some of the savings to delve
into what is driving individuals to commit crimes. "We don't
want to throw away the old tool, we just want to add some new
ones and we have to pay for them." Fewer hard beds are part of
that, she said.
2:54:49 PM
LT. SELL reported that she testified against former Senator
Dyson's bill to reclassify drugs when it didn't have a
reinvestment piece. That part is particularly important in
pretrial because without reinvestment there is just less jail
time and that is the only way to make the status quo worse. She
urged the committee not to pass the bill without reinvestment
because it would not be good for public safety. She concluded
saying that "With the reinvestment, maybe we can actually start
correcting behavior."
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked her to expand on the idea that these reforms
are a culture shift.
LT. SELL said paradigm shifts can be difficult and take some
time, but this one is happening quite rapidly considering the
30-40 years spent on getting tough on crime. She discussed
crisis intervention training, mental health calls, and the need
for discretionary tools to separate violent individuals. The
safest thing for the community is to change behavior, but more
work needs to be done in that area, she said.
3:00:32 PM
SENATOR COGHILL commented on the pushback Lt. Sell experienced
on the citation vs. arrest policy.
LT. SELL discussed the provisions she worked to carve out for
that policy.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked her to discuss the concern voiced by
police officers about not having the ability to arrest someone
when they need to be arrested.
LT. SELL said law enforcement needs to have the discretion to
arrest when it's appropriate and necessary and Senator Coghill
has been very receptive to making changes to accommodate that.
SENATOR COGHILL said they've tried to give discretion although
there is a presumption of nonarrest. He discussed the new
chapter on pretrial services found in Section 92 that has the
reinvestment piece.
LT. SELL said it was an aha moment when she realized that a
person's access to money is not correlated to their propensity
to commit more crimes. She admitted that the process was a
difficult journey and that she had to open her mind to the
science of incarceration and correction and the experience of
other states.
CHAIR MCGUIRE commented on finding the sweet spot as the
pendulum swings, and asked Lt. Sell if she would serve as a
resource for the committee. She expressed hope that the bill
would leave the judiciary committee with support from both law
enforcement and victims' rights organizations.
LT. SELL said she believes that victims and law enforcement can
get to common ground. The victims she's talked with in the last
18 years always say they don't want the perpetrator to victimize
anyone else. The idea is to meaningfully alter behavior the
first time someone enters the criminal justice system so there
isn't a victim 2, 3, or 4.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said she likes the provision that calls for
legislative review.
LT. SELL said smart justice doesn't end on a certain day; it's
necessary to stay on this issue.
3:10:46 PM
BRENDA STANFILL, Executive Director, Interior Alaska Center for
Non-Violent Living, said she was appointed to the victim
advocacy seat on the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission. She
related that when she started out in victim advocacy she felt it
was possible to criminalize the way out of a social issue, but
she understands now that's simply not possible. Despite initial
reservations, she embraced the process the commission went
through to try to think through how to do things smarter to
attain public safety, accountability, and a long term change in
behavior. She listened to the research, data from other states
and to the professionals who have prior experience and
knowledge.
MS. STANFILL described the commission process as interactive and
inclusive. Everyone who attended the meetings had a voice. There
were also two victim services roundtables that worked with
victims to identify gaps and issues within the system and think
about how to reinvest. That work is ongoing. She explained that
the commission decided to release the 21 high-level
recommendations knowing that there would be a legislative
process to go into the details. She thanked Senator Coghill and
his staff for the time they've spent with victim service
agencies. She listed the expertise that the commission drew on
that identified needed carve-outs to make sure that public
safety and victim rights were at the front and center of this
bill.
3:15:27 PM
MS. STANFILL said she embraced the recommendation to utilize
risk-based pretrial decision-making because the pretrial period
is often when victims are most at risk. This can be a crucial
piece of providing victim safety and reducing victimization. It
can also help identify individuals who might be amenable to a
suspended entry of judgment so pretrial services has potential
for both victims and offenders.
She described the citation vs. arrest policy as the scariest
part of pretrial in terms of public safety. That being said, she
believes the commission did a good job of carving out the needed
parts so law enforcement has the latitude to make an arrest when
a victim's safety is at risk.
MS. STANFILL concluded her comments emphasizing the importance
of reinvestment. It's about having pretrial services in place so
someone can be released from prison safely, not just to free up
a hard bed. She cited data from the Choose Respect initiative
that shows that money put into prevention services resulted in
3,000 fewer victimizations in the last 12 months.
"From a commissioner's standpoint and from representing victims
in our state of Alaska, I do truly stand behind what we're doing
here and I think we're on the right track to make something
different happen and in a safe way," Ms. Stanfill stated.
3:19:59 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked if her seat on the commission represented
victim rights and if the concerns articulated by victims' rights
groups were met by the State Affairs committee substitute.
MS. STANFILL said she was appointed to the victim advocacy seat
and she believes there the issues related to victims' rights
were addressed. She commented on the paradigm shift in her
thinking now compared to 15 years ago, but admitted that there
may never be a day that every victims' services agency or victim
will support these changes.
CHAIR MCGUIRE commented that it takes bravery to go down this
path, because it's a different way of thinking about things.
3:26:12 PM
QUINLAN STEINER, Public Defender, Public Defender Agency,
Anchorage, Alaska, said he's spent the bulk of his career
working on policy and management issues; most recently he was a
member of the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission. He said the
commission did a comprehensive review of data related to
criminal justice in this state and there was vigorous debate
about the merits of each policy that was forwarded to the
legislature. As a public defender he discussed and examined his
views in the consensus process and he supports every policy the
commission voted on. While saving money was a goal throughout
the process, the commission never forgot about the goal of
reducing crime and enhancing public safety. He said the bill
accomplishes that, but an important part of its success will be
to follow up and measure the outcomes of the initiatives.
Currently there are initiatives to make that happen. The Alaska
Criminal Justice Information Center is forming to compile data
on treatment programs and initiatives to make sure the expected
benefits are attained. If they aren't, changes can be made.
MR. STEINER described the package of data-supported reform
recommendations as the most comprehensive and significant that
he'd ever seen. "Based upon all of that work, I'm happy to
support the initiatives in this bill," he said.
3:30:31 PM
SENATOR COGHILL asked the committee to keep in mind three things
on the pretrial services: 1) the risk assessment tool will need
to be refined for Alaska after implementation; 2) in addition to
accountability, there is the option for diversionary programs;
and 3) the constitutional question of holding someone based on a
risk assessment.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said she suspects there are similar notions to the
suspended imposition of sentence.
SENATOR COGHILL said he'd like to hear from the court on the
issue.
3:34:14 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked Lt. Sell about a ride along with JPD and
Commissioner Williams if members could visit Lemon Creek
Correctional Center. [She received an affirmative response to
both questions.]
[SB 91 was held in committee.]
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 91 pretrial.pptx |
SJUD 3/11/2016 2:00:00 PM |
SB 91 |
| SB 91 SIGNED FDC Reso 2016-01 Supporting.pdf |
SJUD 3/11/2016 2:00:00 PM |
SB 91 |