Logan County looks at how video
conferencing in the courts could save money and improve security
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[September 17, 2019]
At the Logan County Board Workshop on Thursday, September 12, board
members heard from Judge Jonathan Wright about setting up a video
conferencing system at the courthouse.
Wright said he had brought up the issue previously that by state
statute, there are certain types of cases where an individual who
has been charged with a crime and is in custody pre-trial detention
can have a court appearance done by way of video conferencing.
Right now, on a felony or misdemeanor court date, Wright said the
sheriff must pull a deputy off the road to take prisoners back and
forth three at time. Each are called in one at a time and once their
cases are done, the deputy takes them back and gets more prisoners.
Wright said it is time consuming and the court waits until the next
three get over to the courthouse.
Liability issues are another concern. Wright said in winter, a
shackled prisoner may hit an icy patch on the concrete steps and
fall.
There are also efficiency issues in the courtroom and Wright said he
looked at that problem with the chief judge and Sheriff Mark Landers
prior to the third-floor problems. When things happened on the third
floor, they shut the discussion down due to not being sure what was
going to happen in terms of whether to restore the building or do
something different.
With the position the board has taken, and the understanding that if
the referendum passes it would still be sometime after that the
county would have a fully restored courthouse, Wright said he wanted
to reinitiate the conversation on video conferencing.
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For several years, the officials did not think video conferencing
would even be possible because putting a dedicated line between the
courthouse and jail was going to be cost prohibitive. Wright said
about a year-and-a-half ago Todd Farley told Sheriff Landers there
is already a line, so basically it would just require getting the
equipment in the two buildings.
Wright said what he is asking is for an authorization to go out for
proposals for bids to set equipment up in at least one courtroom and
one over at the county jail. He is also working with the Department
of Corrections to see if they could be tied into the system, so DOC
personnel do not have to escort their prisoners over to the
courthouse.
Wright is looking at cost effective ways to set everything up.
A veteran’s treatment court in McClean County is a circuit-wide
program for veterans who find themselves involved with the criminal
justice system. Wright said it is a problem-solving court because
numbers are not large enough to justify each county having their own
veteran’s treatment court. Everything goes through McClean County
and it is run by Judge Feeny of Woodford County.
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The McClean County Veteran’s Court received a grant through a national
foundation to get networking to outer counties to appear by video. So, Wright
said there is an outside chance Logan County can just tap into that and link it
up to the jail, which would be less expensive than putting in a whole new
system.
Wright said they are asking to go out for bids understanding that they are
“following two tracks of a railroad” as they pursue setting up equipment for
video conferencing while at the same time seeing how the veteran’s court
unfolds.
The target date to have veteran’s court up and running is October 25. Wright
said they would be able to see if Logan County could interface with veteran’s
court and whether we would need flat screen televisions.
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Board member Scott Schaffenacker asked why that target date had been set.
Wright said that date is for the veteran’s treatment court and not necessarily
for our county and the bid proposal, but that is through their grant. If we link
up to McClean County, we may not need new equipment.
Board member Chuck Ruben said the sheriff has offered to spearhead the project
by gathering the bids and the information.
Schaffenacker asked whether the sheriff has offered anything from his budget if
we cannot get a grant.
Because it is an extraordinary expense, Ruben said the board may be able to take
it out of another fund. Since video conferencing would save overtime costs for
the Sheriff’s Department, put deputies back on the road and be more efficient,
Ruben said it would save the county money in the long run.
Board member David Hepler asked if Veteran’s Assistant Commission funding could
be used for veteran’s court because he thinks they may be willing to help.
Though unsure whether VAC funding could be used, Wright said he would check.
Board member Cameron Halpin said he thinks it is a great idea for saving
deputies time and to use 21st century innovation. He offered to help the sheriff
with looking at bids.
Board member Bob Sanders asked if the video conferencing would be available for
high security risks.
For certain types of cases it would be, though Wright said those who have a
trial still have a right to be present for the trial and in certain substantive
hearings, prisoners still need to be brought over. If they are high risk and it
is a status call or jury waiver, it could be done through video conferencing.
Wright said linking up with DOC would also help with officer safety.
At the Regular Board meeting on Tuesday, Ruben would motion to go out for bids
for video conferencing.
[Angela Reiners] |