MAYVILLE – An estimated 100 fewer inmates are at the Chautauqua County Jail today compared to the average during last year. That was the news delivered Wednesday during the Chautauqua County Community Justice Coordinating Council’s first meeting of the new year, which is also the first meeting since a series of new criminal justice reform laws went into effect across the state.
Members of the Chautauqua County Community Justice Coordinating Council hold their 2020 annual meeting on Jan. 15 in Mayville.
Part of the reform measures includes releasing prisoners who were awaiting hearings or court dates for non violent offenses. Their release is due to the state’s bail reform measure, which says a person who’s committed a non violent offense doesn’t have to post bail in order to be set free while they await their court proceedings to take place.
Chautauqua County Sheriff”s Office Captain Jim Crowell serves as the warden of the county jail and said Wednesday that the jail has about 150 inmates this week, which is down about 100 – or 40% – from recent past numbers.
Crowell noted that while the number has seen a sharp decrease in recent weeks, it will likely rebound once some individuals have their court appearance and are sentenced.
Members of the council were concerned that bail reform would lead to more criminals skipping court dates and entering back into the community without supervision by the court system but because it’s still early in the new year, it’s too early to tell just how many individuals will skip on their day in court.
Many of the non violent offenses that fall under the new bail reform law involve drug-related crimes and officials say the county is continuing to build on drug treatment and jail diversion programs in order to reduce recidivism rates.
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