By Tony Burchyns / Times-Herald
Posted: 06/28/2011 07:38:41 AM PDT
FAIRFIELD -- Video arraignments for youthful offenders could help the county save money, a grand jury report released Monday finds.
About 2,400 Solano County youths require transportation between juvenile hall and local courts every year, requiring money for two vans and three designated officers, the report says. Other counties, meanwhile, conduct juvenile detention hearings from their detention facilities via video to reduce transportation needs.
Solano County, however, does not.
Chief Probation Officer Isabelle Voit said more research is required before the county could consider the idea. Voit added that other counties have experimented with video communication equipment for court hearings, but abandoned the idea after youth counselors expressed a preference for a more personal courtroom atmosphere.
Meanwhile, county officials are in talks with the Superior Court system, the district attorney's office and private attorneys about making video arraignments part of the forthcoming new adult jail facility in Fairfield. Construction on the $89 million project is expected to begin next year.
"One concern is having the right video communication equipment to safeguard the system," Solano County Supervisor Linda Seifert said.
It's unclear if the possible use of video equipment in the new jail would have any bearing on the decision to add it to the Juvenile Detention Facility, Voit said.
Solano County Probation Department officials could not provide
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annual transportation costs Monday.
The Solano County Grand Jury, however, found, "The need to transport wards from the facility to the justice centers in Fairfield and Vallejo continues to be a concern for the safety and security of wards."
The grand jury did not elaborate.
The juvenile hall complex is at 740 Beck Ave., Fairfield. Its average population is between 75 and 80 youths. When it opened in recent years, it replaced a previous facility that included juvenile courtrooms, therefore avoiding the transportation issue, Solano County Supervisor Barbara Kondylis said.
"It's been discussed for several years," Kondylis said. But she added the county probably lacks funds to conduct a thorough study of the problem.
The grand jury also said the county should develop a plan "that allows the optimum utilization of space and personnel" to avoid delays when placing wards into rehabilitative programs. One short-term program with a waiting list is called New Foundations, which focuses on family reunification and drug abuse issues.
"The county needs to utilize all its facilities and other resources available to maximize efficiency in its efforts to help the youth in its custody," the report concludes.
Contact staff writer Tony Burchyns at tburchyns@timesheraldonline.com or (707) 553-6831.
At a glance:
Juvenile hall numbers, as of March 2011:
* Ward population: 79
* Capacity: 118
* Length of stay: As long as two years
* Ratio of male to female wards: About 7 to 3
* Staffing level: 58
* Cost per day to house a ward: $230
* Recidivism rate: 30 percent
http://www.timesheraldonline.com/ci_18368479
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