Davis County pretrial services reports steady outcomes, says no new budget request this year

Pretrial services staff told the Davis County Budget Committee that the program is fully staffed, is seeing stable outcomes and is not requesting additional funding for the current budget year.

The presenter, identified in the record as a Pretrial services staff member, said the office now includes a supervisor, five case managers, a legal technician and the presenter, and reported recent workspace improvements including conversion of a coffee room into an office and added client resource materials in the waiting area. "We're not asking for any additional requests this year," the Pretrial services staff member said.

The presenter emphasized changes in how the office uses the Public Safety Assessment (PSA) and related guidance from a 2023 technical assistant, saying that judges now receive more detailed information and continue to exercise discretion. The presenter said that the office provides judges an "accurate and informative interpretation of the Public Safety Assessment," and that judges' decisions have affected who is released to pretrial supervision.

On performance, the presenter gave the following figures: an appearance rate of 79 percent for clients who make their court dates, a 75 percent success rate measured as no new charges while under supervision, and a 95 percent safety rate for clients under supervision. The presenter reported about 954 referrals to pretrial services so far this year and said the program expects to exceed 1,000 referrals by year end. He said the office will have "served, supervised over 700 actual supervised cases by the end of the year," and that case managers are averaging about 62 clients on their caseloads.

The presenter discussed potential future budget requests tied to program growth. He said the program may request additional staff, including possible screening positions to perform initial screenings at jail intake so judges and staff have more information before release decisions. "It would give judicial law officers a chance to actually look at, get a better look at people before they release them," the Pretrial services staff member said.

On costs, the presenter compared the per-client cost of pretrial supervision to incarceration. He said pretrial supervision costs about $3.20 per client (later referenced as $3.25), and said an average incarceration cost used in his calculation was about $48 per person when fixed costs are included. The presenter used those figures to illustrate the program's cost differential.

Human Resources staff at the meeting noted training requirements and professional networks the office is using. A Human Resources staff member said the program must maintain BCI-related compliance training required by the state and noted the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies (NAPSA) as a source of training and networking; the meeting record shows the county sent one case manager to a national conference this year. Committee members and staff also described pretrial staff consulting with other Utah counties and hosting observers from other agencies.

The Budget Committee took no formal action at the meeting on funding for pretrial services. The presenter and other staff framed possible future needs as contingent on program growth — including requests for travel and training funds and potential screening positions — but said no additional appropriation was being sought in the current budget cycle.