LAW AND JUSTICE COMMITTEE

MINUTES

March 16, 2009

The Law and Justice Committee of the DeKalb County Board met on Monday, March 16, 2009 @ 6:30p.m. in the DeKalb County Administration Building’s Conference Room East.  Chairman Marlene Allen called the meeting to order.  Members present were Kevin Chambliss, Riley Oncken, Richard Osborne and Anita Turner.   Others present were Margi Gilmour, Regina Harris, Sheriff Scott and Aaron Ruder.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

            Moved by Mr. Oncken, seconded by Ms. Turner, and it was carried unanimously to approve the minutes from February 2009.

APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

            Moved by Mr. Oncken, seconded by Ms. Turner, and it was carried unanimously to approve the agenda.

SHERIFF'S ANNUAL REPORT - SHERIFF ROGER SCOTT

            Sheriff Roger Scott thanked his staff and Facilities Management for helping him produce his 2008 Annual Report.  He then presented the report to the committee (on file in the County Board Office and the Sheriff's Department).  He said that there were twenty-five thousand 911 calls last year.  Most of the 911 calls come from cell phones while 20% came from landline telephones.

            One of the additional duties that his office performs is serving warrants.  He explained that the time spent maintaining a single warrant over it's life span averages 45 minutes to an hour.  It may not sound like a lot until a person realizes that there are almost 2,200 new warrants received in the Communications Center last year, and that they currently hold and maintain 4,000 active warrants and body attachments.  The entry and maintenance of these documents required over 2,500 hours of time.

            Traffic citations decreased by 27%.  His staff was not at full strength last year because of injuries and training new patrol deputies.

            He then reviewed the traffic accidents in the County. He said that at the intersection of Peace Road and Fairview Road is the worst, which amounted to 11 accidents last year at this site.  There were 1,035 accident reports taken in 2008.  There were also 20 fatal accidents last year with 41% that were alcohol related. 

            There were a total of 418 cases assigned in 2008, which reflected about a 9% increase over the 2007 total cases of 381.  The bulk of last years increase fell within the categories of frauds and scams, sexual assault and abuse, and domestic abuse and battery.  Fraud and financial scams continue to demand additional investigative time and resources with a  total of 69 cases reported in 2008.  This included identify theft, forgery, deceptive practice, credit card fraud, and contractor fraud, to illustrate the explosive growth of this problem; they investigated 54 cases in 2007, 52 cases in 2006, 58 cases in 2005, 57 cases in 2004, 36 cases in 2003 and only 15 cases in 2002.  This represents a monumental increase of over 300% from 2002 through 2008.

            Sexual assault and abuse cases nearly doubled last year from 17 in 2007 to 31 in 2008.  Discussions with other agencies and social service providers point to this category as being an upward trend that transcends across all communities.  It is possible that more victims of these offenses are willing to come forward to authorities for prosecution.  A related category of domestic abuse and battery also increased to a total of 24 cases assigned in 2008.

            The state of the jail is found on page 60 of the Sheriff's Annual Report.  The average daily population in 2008 rose to 124 inmates, increasing from the plateau they were at in 2006-2007 of 103 and 102 respectively. 

            In 2008 the cost exceeded $600,000.00 for in-bed space rental costs.  This does not include the added costs of transport and scheduling.  The Sheriff reminded the committee that the technical capacity for beds in the county jail is 89 beds and the functional capacity is 72 beds.

            He explained that the Action Plan for Criminal Justice Needs, adopted by the County Board in 2007, is a solid plan, however if there is an opportunity to expedite that plan it should receive the highest of priority.  The County is actively pursuing stimulus funds to help with jail construction, and he would strongly urge that if any new sources of revenue come into being that they are directed to jail construction and operation.  Page 72 of the Sheriff's Report reflects the overcrowding problem in the jail.

            Page 75 of the report discusses the Jail programs and activities.  Page 88 highlights the New Horizons formation of the Illinois Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce (TERT) in his office.  DeKalb County is a member department in the State of Illinois' program, which includes representatives from 39 departments.

            Chairman Allen thanked Sheriff Scott for his very informative report.

COURT SERVICES MONTHLY REPORTS

            Ms. Margi Gilmour, DeKalb County Court Services Director, presented her monthly Juvenile and Adult Report to the committee.  She said that one young lady was released from residential placement last month and that 2 youths remaining in placement. 

            There were 4 kids detained for the month of February with all four being the first time.

            She updated the committee on the Intergovernmental Agreement with Kane County for the juvenile detention center.  She said that the first contract occurred in 1997 where the DeKalb County Board allocated $1 million, which lasted until 2006.  The costs per diem started at $85 and have gone down now to the current rate of $80. The numbers in 2008 were wonderful and that the costs have gone down and will hopefully help to keep transports for the Sheriff down.  It is a win/win situation for both Counties. 

            Chairman Allen said that it's been a collaborative effort between the County Judicial Offices to keep those numbers down.

PUBLIC DEFENDER'S REPORT

            Ms. Regina Harris, DeKalb County Public Defender, gave her monthly report to the committee.  She said that the numbers were stable in February 2009 and that they are coming down slightly.  The types of cases that they are seeing are different, with five cases coming in last week for armed robbery.

            She also mentioned that Mr. Rob Carlson would be joining her staff in May.  He will be handling felony DUI's and with his experience he will be able to help with other assignments.  He will be a full-time employee.

JAIL REPORT

Sheriff Scott said that his latest Jail Report showed that there were 120 inmates in the Jail in February 2009.  He mentioned that there may be a dip in March in the numbers, which is usual.

ADJOURNMENT

Moved by Ms. Turner, seconded by Mr. Oncken, and it was carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting.

                                                            Respectfully submitted,

                                                            _________________________________

                                                            Marlene Allen, Chairman

MA:mcs

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