Municipal Court Judge Amy Lindgren reported to the St. Helens City Council on Jan. 15 that the number of crimes prosecuted in the city's municipal court rose to 380 in 2024 from 247 the previous year, and that prosecuted violations (including code enforcement and traffic) increased to 624 from 483.

Lindgren said revenue for the court also rose from roughly $82,500 in the prior year to approximately $101,000 in the most recent year. She said noncash work-release or "work-off" distributions were lower this year compared with the prior year, and that change affected overall case processing patterns.

Lindgren and Chief Hogue raised a separate but related operational concern: Clackamas County Sheriff Pixley has proposed cuts at the county jail. Lindgren said Pixley told local officials the jail cannot absorb the previous level of local bookings without making changes; some changes could begin as early as March, with broader effects in July.

"He thinks that the biggest thing that will have to be managed will be a either we I don't wanna say rent a space, but, it will be like a daily rate or if we just have 1 permanently in place," Lindgren said of approaches being discussed to address bed capacity.

Lindgren said she plans to meet with Chief Hogue and Sheriff Pixley to develop options and present a plan to council (she suggested February 19 as a target for a follow-up briefing). She warned that fewer available jail beds could shift how low-level offenses are handled — for example, more cite-and-release procedures and fewer overnight holds for municipal arrests.

Why it matters: Reduced county jail capacity and rising municipal caseloads would affect how the St. Helens Police Department and municipal court manage arrests, detentions and prosecutions for low-level offenses, with potential consequences for public-safety workflow and case outcomes.

Next steps: Judge Lindgren will coordinate a meeting with the police chief and the county sheriff and plans to bring recommendations to council for managing jail-capacity and court-processing impacts; no formal council action was taken at the Jan. 15 meeting.