DeKalb County, Illinois

Minutes of the
Law & Justice Committee

May 16, 2011

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DRAFT

LAW AND JUSTICE COMMITTEE

MINUTES

May 16, 2011

The Law and Justice Committee of the DeKalb County Board met on Monday, May 16, 2011, at 6:30 p.m. in the DeKalb County Legislative Center’s Freedom room.  Chairman Marlene Allen called the meeting to order. Committee members present were Riley Oncken, Anita Turner, Derek Tyson, Ken Andersen, and Steve Reid.  All members were present.  Others present were Probation Director Margi Gilmour, Public Defender Regina Harris, Court Services Director Margi Gilmour, Sheriff Roger Scott and State’s Attorney Clay Campbell.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

Moved by Ms. Turner, seconded by Mr. Reid, and it was carried unanimously to approve the minutes from April 2011.

APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

Moved by Mr. Andersen, seconded by Mr. Oncken, and it was carried unanimously to approve the agenda as presented.

SHERIFF DEPARTMENT’S ANNUAL REPORT – SHERIFF ROGER SCOTT

Sheriff Roger Scott reviewed his 2010 Annual Report for the committee.

Some of the pages that he highlighted are as follows: 

Sheriff Scott said that the average daily population for today was 148 inmates.  Page 5 of his report reflects that his staff numbers have been reduced by 2 people due to the 2010 budget. On page 11 the report talks about 911 calls.  During 2010 the Sheriff’s Department received 26,059 Enhanced 911 calls.  Approximately 85% of the 911 calls received at the Sheriff’s Department came from cellular telephones.  Page 14 shows that 2700 new warrants were processed in 2010.  Page 20 shows that the average response time for dispatch arrival was slower than years before due to the geographic locations.  The total amount of tickets written last year was 6,632.  The number one intersection for accidents in 2010 was the intersection of State Route 64 and Peace Road.  He stated that on page 39 it shows that 38% of accident fatalities were alcohol related.

For the second year in a row,(Page 43) the Sheriff’s Department broke the 500 mark with 523 assigned cases for criminal investigations, which is slightly down from 547 in 2009.  Both years represent over 20% increase in case load from our previous high of 418 cases in 2008.  Frauds and scams continue at a high level but car burglaries saw the largest increase in 2010.

Sexual assault and abuse cases were down in 2010 to 21 as compared to 31 in both 2008 and 2009, but still above the 17 cases in 2007.  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 decreased to 13 in 2010, from 37 investigated cases in 2009.

There were a total of 12 death cases investigated in 2010 and all findings of accidental, natural or suicide. There was one case of attempted homicide in connection with a drug transaction gone bad.  Investigators also assisted with a murder investigation once the DeKalb County Major Case Squad was activated.  There were only 2 robberies investigated in 2010.

The DeKalb County Jail averaged 131 inmates per day in the Jail in 2010.  This is an 11% increase over 2009 when the average daily population was 118 inmates per day.  2010 is the highest annual average population for our Jail as shown in the chart on page 56 of his report.  This means the Jail averaged 47% over its capacity of 89 beds.

The committee thanked Sheriff Scott for his very informative report.

STATE’S ATTORNEY REPORT – CLAY CAMPBELL

State’s Attorney Clay Campbell briefly informed the committee of what has been going on in his department over the past couple of months. 

He said that they have some major prosecutions going on now in his office.  He mentioned that his department handed over 4,000 pages to the Public Defender with regard to the Keller case.  He is also looking at the overcrowding problem in the Jail.  His office is looking at diverting as many cases as they can, especially with juveniles.  He is looking at restarting the Juvenile Justice Committee again and he is in discussions with local leaders regarding focusing on the safety of students that attend DeKalb High School by looking at gang violence and trying to keep kids out of the gangs.  He is also working with NIU and the perception of it being an unsafe campus.  There is a perception of the recent years of violence that we are getting a reputation of being dangerous when the statistical information indicates that it is still a pretty safe place.

PUBLIC DEFENDER’S REPORT – Regina Harris

Ms. Harris submitted her monthly report.  She said that her numbers are steady and have closed more cases in April than they opened.  Also, they now have 2 volunteer law students helping her staff.

COURT SERVICES – Margi Gilmour

Ms. Gilmour submitted her monthly reports.  She said that her adult report is pretty standard.  The one young man in Onarga was moved to Focus House and she feels that the county should save some money by doing this.  They had 2 detentions last month with one for the second time and 3 admissions.  They also are trying to divert as many cases as they can.

ADJOURNMENT

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

Respectfully submitted,

_________________________________

Marlene Allen, Chairman

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