Last year was a record-breaker for Cass County Court & Pretrial Services.
The agency served 363 clients, marking a 21% increase from 2023 and a 59% increase from 2022. It also saw a 5% rise in evaluations and a 19% increase in new intakes.
Those numbers amount to more than $1.7 million diverted from incarceration expenses, which is equivalent to what it would cost to keep someone in jail for 118 years.
Statewide and national agencies are taking notice of the success.
While Cass County Jail holds inmates from Carroll County, Howard County and the Indiana Department of Correction alongside local inmates, it was at 61% capacity in December. Without Pretrial Services, the agency estimated the jail would be 8% over capacity. Housing inmates from other facilities brings in revenue for the jail.
According to a report by the agency, 66% of its active cases in December dealt with people charged with a felony.
“We’ve done all that while sustaining our metrics at a very high level,” Hillary Hartoin, director of the agency, said during a Cass County Commissioners meeting Tuesday.
She explained 94% of the organization’s clients go to every court hearing during their pretrial period and 88% were not charged with a new offense during their pretrial period. Both of those metrics, she added, are at least 10%-12% higher than surrounding communities.
“I believe that’s largely due to our therapeutic services model,” Hartoin explained.
Seventy-eight percent of the agency’s clients agree to join the voluntary therapeutic program, which includes services like addiction or domestic violence counseling. The number marks a 20% increase since the county partnered with Psychotherapy Associates of Kokomo, with another 20 people on the waiting list to join the program and the county looking at adding another day of programming.
Hartoin explained the appearance and safety metrics also represent the core of what pretial is about. As chair of the Indiana Pretrial Committee, she explained 21 metrics are reported by pretrial offices throughout the state.
Another metric specifically tracking clients who commit a new violent crime will launch statewide Friday. Cass County’s Court & Pretrial Services pioneered the metric, Hartoin explained.
In Cass County, nearly 90% of those released do not commit a new offense. Of those who do, less than 2% commit a violent offense.
“That kind of shows that we’re making the right decisions,” Hartoin told the County Commissioners. “Even though we’ve grown, we’re able to supervise people in a manner that ensures community safety.”
“That has kept our performance rates a lot higher than you’ll see anywhere else,” Hartoin said. “And that’s gained us a lot of attention, both here at the state level and nationally.”
The local agency’s work will also be highlighted in Las Vegas during the 50th American Probation and Parole Association’s National Conference, where Hartoin will walk visitors through the jail review process.
According to session details posted to the conference’s website, reviewing jail data can help stakeholders better address violation responses, alternatives to incarceration, sentencing practices and the need for specialty courts.
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