Surveillance_flock

21:55 asked what would happen if we are not funded. Mr. Zimmerman had projected that we will run out of funding in October of this year. And while the programs would still exist, the programs would not be affordable for many individuals in our county. And that would mean that people would remain in our facility, the Clark County Jail. And so there are several programs in our electronic monitoring programs. They are required, so when someone is sentenced on a DUI, there is a requirement for them

22:48 to be able to be on electronic monitoring. And some of this funding goes towards that. And if some individuals are able to be out on electronic monitoring and transdermal, then that becomes a question of fairness, if some people are able to do that because they can afford it and other people have to sit in the Clark County Jail because they are unable to afford that. So this program actually allows all of those people to be monitored, to be home, to be working, and to be adequately monitored. This also funds the electronic monitoring with victim notification technology program, which is the GPS program that we are familiar with, as well as SCRAM and the urinalysis

23:45 testing for those who are pretrial when that is ordered by the court as a pretrial condition of release. >> Okay, thank you. Are there questions from the Council? >> Chair, I do have a really quick question. Thanks for remembering the conversation. You mentioned that if, well, first of all, when do we anticipate to hear about whether or not the grant was approved? >> In round one, we heard within two months. And it's been a couple of weeks. So we're hoping that within about a month and a half, we would be able to hear. >> So that'll probably, it'll take us up to October, right? >> Yes. And should we be successful, then we would no longer need the funding. >> Okay. We're going to be successful, right? I think, yeah. >> Yes. >> Pretty sure you guys submitted an amazing grant.

24:40 You mentioned that there are folks who can't afford to pay for the monitoring services if we don't get approved for the grant. What does it cost for those who could afford it? What's the daily cost? >> It depends on actually which condition and which program they're ordered. So it could be $15 a day, it could be $21 a day, it depends on what is ordered. So whether that's Scram or GPS monitoring, it depends on the program. >> So a lot cheaper than incarcerating somebody for almost $210 a day. >> Yeah, $216 a day is our current rate. >> Oh, $216. Okay, I was looking at the top one here. Oh, that was 2025, so inflation, $216, great, thank you. >> Other questions? Yes, Councillor Young. >> Yes, thank you, Chair. Similar to my last question, I think the last time this came in front of us, we had a short

25:39 discussion about how we are determining whether people can afford this on their own without. If I remember correctly, I think you were maybe in process of developing a way to make sure people can afford it too. Can you comment on that? >> Did you hear that question? Because I think he was asking about how do we determine whether or not someone can afford it, whether or not there's a financial need. That need, I believe, is based on whether or not someone is determined to be indigent, being indigent by the court. And one of the things that we wrote into our grant application is that we would be working with all of our partners. We've been focusing on, in the last month and a half, since I have been here as the

26:38 district court administrator, on being really collaborative with our partners and trying to figure out how can we look at our programs and best use our resources that are available. Been working with Vancouver Police Department, who they're working with one of the programs, which is the EMVNT, or the electronic monitoring, the GPS program. They did write a letter of support for the grant application, and wanting to look at -- she's offered to do some training or refresher training for the courts, and I know has already worked with the prosecuting attorney's office in terms of how the programs work. Really looking at how can we best use the resources and not overuse the resources, but use them the way they are intended and preserve our cost and the life of the program.

27:38 That all sounds great. I was wondering about that. So it's the courts that decide whether or not someone is indigent, and do they base that on some data? There is a form that is completed at the beginning of the hearing. Okay. Is it just self-declare? If people are just self-declaring that they can't afford this? I will say, yes, there are specific questions that are asked, and it's based on the answers provided. Okay. And then I was -- you know, I noticed that there's been a sharp increase, and, you know, how do you account for that increase? And I think this started as a grant-funded program, not too long -- when did it start that we were just picking up the cost of this? Because I think there was a time when we didn't. That's correct.

28:37 We had various grants for various components of this program, some of them from the Administrative Office of the Courts, others by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. Both of those grant-funded components have expired now, and the last one is expiring this October for the electronic monitoring for DOI, and that is provided by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. And hence, we projected out until the end of the year there is not going to be any more funding for that component of the program. The other component of the program was GPS victim notification, and a lot of that was recommendations from the PA's office to -- for that part of monitoring. I can see where that would be really very important. Chair? Yes, go ahead.

29:35 April 4th, for the record, Deputy County Manager. And I think that the program is only, like, three years old, and we were one of the first in the state to do it, and so I think the rapid increase is just recognizing -- I mean, our courts -- we all believe in it, the court systems, VPD, public defense, and pretrial district court. That was my recollection, too, so I just wanted some confirmation. You know, I appreciate that you're looking internally to see if there's ways to prioritize or how the system is working, and I would just request when you begin to figure that out or if you have recommendations, if you could share that with the Law and Justice Council or even, you know, kick it around with the Law and Justice Council to try to figure out how we can make this most efficient. I see it as part of the justice part of law and justice, so critically important.

30:33 Any other comments or questions from the council?