Crowding forces release of detention center inmates
About 105 Clark County Detention Center inmates serving time for minor offenses had their sentences suspended Friday, according to County officials.
The Second Chance pilot program is a way to deal with crowding at the jail, Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak said.
The inmates were people who hadn’t been originally sentenced to jail but that had failed to go to classes, pay fines and meet their community service requirements, Sisolak told the Review-Journal. Fulfilling their initial commitments would have kept them out of jail in the first place.
“Cases involving charges of assault, battery, domestic violence, violation of protection order, and driving under the influence” were excluded due to public safety, said Las Vegas Justice Court Chief Judge Joe Bonaventure.
Out of the 176 cases considered, 105 inmates were released, Bonaventure said. Most were given another opportunity to meet their requirements.
“Those not released were deemed ineligible based on a number of factors, including case history and criminal history,” he said.
Although Clark County officials didn’t specify the reasons driving jail overcrowding, the Review-Journal reported earlier in June that 62 detention center inmates were awaiting transfers to the Lake’s Crossing Center mental facility in Sparks.
Metro’s 2014 report on the Clark County Detention Center determined that the average daily population for the jail was 4,149 inmates and that there were 59,834 bookings and 59,763 releases for the year. The average daily population forecast for 2015 is 4,008 inmates, according to the report.
The Second Chance program is a collaborative effort between the multiple Clark County departments and other community groups, Sisolak said.
Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Follow @rickytwrites on Twitter.
