Panel #1: Criminal Justice System Presentation for the Tacoma Property Crimes Reduction Task Force Meeting 3: January 6, 2016 Panelists: The Honorable Edmund Murphy, Judge, Pierce County Superior Court; The Honorable Drew Henke, Judge, Tacoma Municipal Court; Kristine Skipworth, Field Administrator, Department of Corrections; Jean Hayes, Supervising Deputy City Attorney; Prosecution Division; Stephen Penner, Chief Criminal Deputy, Pierce County Prosecutor; Michael Kawamura, Director, Pierce County Assigned Counsel
We will hear from the following Panelists: Prosecutors/City Attorney’s Office, Defense Bar, Judicial System Today’s Washington State Department of Corrections (Confinement, Supervision) Presentation * Agencies limited to Adult System
• Prosecuting Authority (Tacoma City Attorney, Pierce County Prosecutor) No offense charged, nature and severity of offense. Conditions of release Who’s in this • Recommendation as to conditions of Pre-Trial release (Bail versus P.R.) part of the • Judicial Officers Determination of probable cause as to charged offense. system? Pre-trial conditions of release. • Prosecutor, Defense Counsel Case processing
Judicial Decision Pierce County Superior Court 2015 Approximate Total Admissions Approximate Total of Eligible Felony • Drug Court 200 (Est.) A - 345 (Est.) • Mental Health Court 35 (Est.) B - 1,843 (Est.) • Friendship Diversion 151 cases referred C - 2,432 (Est.) Who’s in this (Prosecutor driven decision. No Judicial Involvement) part of the • Traditional SRA Resolutions Balance Total Projected - 4,620 (Est.) (Confinement in PCJ or Prison, Fines) system? * All Jurisdictions within Pierce County Non SRA Cases, City of Tacoma Gross and Simple Misdemeanor cases are generally not subject to limitations of SRA, determinate sentences, prohibition on affirmative conduct as part of sentencing, etc. (Some misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor offenses have mandatory minimums for confinement and mandatory sentence conditions). • Misdemeanor - Up to 90 days incarceration, fines, affirmative conditions, supervision • Gross Misdemeanor – Up to 365 days incarceration, fines, affirmative conditions, supervision
Judicial Decision Tacoma Municipal Court 2015 Mental Health Cases Total New Cases Who’s in this 172 (Est.) 2,577 (Est.) *To level of Competency Issues Misdemeanor & Gross Misdemeanor part of the system? Post Disposition • DOC Supervision (Felony) • Bench Supervision (City of Tacoma Bench)
S trength – Each agency excels at work they do, i.e. core functions An informal ‘SWOC’ W eaknesses – Individual agency communication with each other, lack of coordination, lost opportunities for non-conventional assessment – action, loss of concerted efforts to share information, lost what we do opportunities to address issues in holistic manner. O pportunities – “See Above” well, where are the gaps? C hallenges – “See Above”
Tacoma Municipal Court Dismiss and Refer Graffiti Task Force Current Retail Theft Program Burglary Emphasis initiatives or programs • Pierce County Superior Court relevant to Pre-trial Release Drug Court reducing Mental Health Court property crime Burglary Emphasis Friendship Diversion Staffing changes to address vulnerable client populations
Longer-term agency goals Emphasis on having attorneys consider collateral consequences of relevant to dispositions and fashioning outcomes which increase odds of longer term client success within Rules of Professional Conduct. property crime reduction?
Communication with each stakeholder. Need a more concerted effort to share information about those we have in common, trends, concerns, safety issues or ideas to keep communities safer. How well are we Coordination and discussion regarding traditional case processing coordinating -- functions, frequent. with each Coordination, discussion regarding outcomes on a holistic level other, and with are less frequent. other parts of Exceptions - Drug Court, Mental Health Court, Friendship Diversion the system? Review of Conditions of Release Protocols Pre-trial release dismiss & refer
Near universal response to property crime by traditional (SRA) basic punitive measures alone is unlikely to reduce future similar conduct. Specific programs (Drug Court, Mental Health Court, Dismiss & Suggestions Refer, etc.) currently address underlying causes of property crime. and Percentage of application of existing programs are small in comparison to total number of criminal cases. Observations Eliminating/Reducing justice system resources on low end spectrum of criminal offenders may create additional resources to address high end offenders.
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