A new pilot program in Santa Clara County aims to stop repeat offenders by keeping them in jail longer.
But critics say more jail isn’t the answer.
Under the new program, arresting officers can now offer judges an opinion on whether they think the person is a risk.
For example, if they’ve arrested someone multiple times for theft, they can lay out why they believe that person should have a higher bail to help ensure they remain behind bars until their first court appearance.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
“Individuals who are committing lots of crimes are often being released on bail or on conditions that are not sufficient to address their dangerousness,” said Marisa McKeown.
She's the Santa Clara County supervising deputy DA who designed the pilot program.
She believes it will keep repeat offenders in jail longer, and prevent them from committing more crimes.
Local
“This is an ongoing effort by all system partners to provide better information about risks so the right people are in jail, and the wrong people aren’t,” said McKeown.
But the public defender’s office says holding people longer doesn’t work, and they believe the project is ill-conceived, also arguing it violates a Supreme Court decision from two years ago that requires courts to find the least restrictive alternative to incarceration.
“I think the entire aim of the policy is really just to increase incarceration of poor people. Namely homeless people, people with mental health issues,” said Raj Jayadev with Silicon Valley Debug, which pushes for criminal justice reform.
He argues that police are not judges, and not lawmakers, and these decisions are outside their purview.
“It’s really just a PR stunt by the police to try to challenge state, legislative, and litigative changes on bail reform and this is their pushback,” said Jayadev. “They want to see more people incarcerated.”
The judges ultimately make the decision on bail after someone is booked.
The pilot program runs through the end of the year. Police and the DA will then try to determine if it was effective.
