The number of inmates in the Salt Lake County Metro Jail is down about 1,000 since the start of the pandemic.
Multiple partners, including the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the district courts, have collaborated to release non-violent offenders or those who served the majority of their sentence.
The initial reason for the reduction in inmate population was to reduce the spread of COVID-19 infection among people who find themselves in confined spaces inside the jail. Currently, there is one active coronavirus case.
This is not a "get-out-of jail free" card; those awaiting adjudication are required to finish the process.
The original public health strategy fast-tracked into what law enforcement officials now call a potential criminal justice reform effort that can be used post-pandemic.
“A lot of them are not coming back to the jail. The ones that were released, they're being placed on different programs and being monitored,” said Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera.
The courts largely decide which inmates get released, which is a concern to Amy Hawkins, who lives in the Ballpark neighborhood in Salt Lake City, where crime and murders are up.
“Whatever policies and changes have led to this increase that we've seen, we need to think seriously about the ramifications of those,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins did not say this strategy is the exact reason for the spike in crime in her neighborhood.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill says the data shows the opposite is happening.
If there are 100 people that go out and commit crime, 88 are non-violent risk to the community," Gill said. "Of the 12 that are a risk to the community, we were able to hold in jail 11 out of the 12, so that is about as good of a return as we can get."
Gill said this strategy helps non-violent offenders who can't afford a cash bail, allowing them to get back to work and pay rent while awaiting adjudication.
And for anyone who thinks this is a way to dodge jail or re-offend, Gill said, “We can always take you back into custody, so it is finding that balance.”
Finding that balance in the long term requires more study of the data. Law enforcement leaders plan to continue studying the data and potentially implement this strategy post-pandemic.
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Pandemic-spurred inmate reductions being looked at as long-term reform strategy - KJZZ
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