POUGHKEEPSIE – A study conducted for the Dutchess County Criminal Justice Council found that 17 percent of people in the county jail are accounting for approximately 60 percent of jail days, negatively affecting the jail population.
The study was conducted by the council’s consultant Dr. Gary Christensen.
Council Chairwoman Mary Ellen Still said they are going to have to begin evaluating why some individuals are staying in jail for so long.
“We need to take a look at the average length of stay and focus on our interventions of those individuals who are staying 100 days, or more, in the jail because the average length of stay is what was driving our jail population,” said Still.
Dr. Christensen said to address the problem the council will be putting together an inter-agency committee to collaborate on data analysis and streamlining the jail stay process.
“We have a quality assurance committee that we’re forming with the key criminal justice players, and the courts, to help to identify people who are taking a long period of time to go through the court process and we’re hoping that that quality assurance work will drop the number, or drop the length of stay,” said Christensen.
The database on which the study is based has been evolving since 2011, according to Christensen.
The Quality Assurance Committee will begin working during the interim period until the next council meeting and the council is expecting to have some direction to act upon by the next meeting.
“Focus on our interventions” urged Still (center)
