Macomb Co. (Michigan) Jail Needs Analysis & Criminal Justice System Assessment

Jail Overcrowding Undermines System Efforts The Jail is impacted by a lack of “one empty bed.” Jail overcrowding is costly. An inability for judges to deliver swift and certain jail sanctions can undermine community-based rehabilitation efforts and ultimately increase recidivism. The average number of prior bookings among sentenced inmates in the Macomb County Jail may very likely reflect this. Fifty-one percent of misdemeanor defendants booked into the Jail had, a prior misdemeanor booking (11% had 8 or more prior misdemeanor bookings); 33% had a prior felony booking.
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Expedite the Sanction Process for Domestic Violence Program or Supervision Violations We were told that the Violation of Probation process can take up to one month. That is too long. To be effective, sanctions must be delivered in a matter of days. And, there was a reported lack of judicial consistency in responding to domestic violence violations, often with offenders building up multiple violations before the delivery of a swift sanction. In an ideal world all domestic violence offenders would know with certainty what sanction to expect for non-compliance.
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A swift sanction is imperative to achieving longer term compliance. Either the courts need a more immediate response or the probation agent needs expanded authority to immediately sanction certain types of supervision violation. Both should be explored.