NCJ Number
107986
Date Published
1986
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This evaluation of Milwaukee County's supervised pretrial release (SPR) program studies its effectiveness through comparisons with other Milwaukee defendants, assesses the program's impact on state and local dispositions, and examines potential benefits in terms of relieving jail overcrowding and reducing jail costs.
Abstract
The SPR program is designed for individuals who are charged with criminal offenses and are unable to meet bail or do not qualify for release on recognizance. Characteristics of the 81 SPR clients who were terminated during the 6-month period from March 1985 through August 1985 were compared with 3,137 Milwaukee defendants terminated in the same period. SPR Defendants were less likely to be rearrested for new offenses and less likely to abscond than those released without supervision. SPR clients, however, were somewhat less likely to show up for court appearances than non-SPR releases. Moreover, SPR clients tended to receive favorable dispositional outcomes. They were more likely to receive probation and less likely to be sentenced to state prisons or the county jail. The evaluation estimated that the SPR program saved an average of 80 jail beds per day, which represents a net annual savings of approximately $1,492 using a per diem cost of $54. The report recommends continuing the SPR project and possibly expanding it beyond Milwaukee County. Tables.