The Madison County Judiciary Committee approved a resolution introduced by State’s Attorney Tom Haine to provide funding for inmates who cannot afford ankle monitoring and do not pose a threat to the public.
During Friday’s Judiciary Committee meeting, Haine said the program is a “multifaceted approach relating to mitigation of the Covid epidemic on especially poor detainees in the Madison County jail.”
“There’s a serious problem with Covid in our jail,” he continued, “especially because of the number of current inmates in the jail that prevents there being adequate social distancing.”
At the meeting, the Sheriff’s Department reported that there are currently 287 inmates in custody between the county’s Edwardsville and Alton jails. Of those inmates, 45 detainees are waiting to be moved elsewhere. There are also currently eight adults and one juvenile on the ankle monitoring system.
Haine said the State’s Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Department, Probation Department, Public Defender’s Office and the court are working in conjunction to make the program a success.
Major Jeff Connor with the Sheriff’s Department said the different departments have been working “hand-in-hand for the same goal.”
“I just think it’s a win-win, and it’s a cost-saving method also,” he said.
Haine said the ankle monitoring program puts inmates on “house arrest” with a geofence and would be monitored by the Probation Department.
He added that there have been several instances in the last few weeks where detainees have been released on ankle bracelet monitoring and then violated the program. He said they are then taken back to jail.
Haine said the program would be determined on a case-by-case basis for non-violent offenders and will “allow for a flex scenario” when addressing jail capacity issues.
Specifically, the judiciary would identify inmates who are currently detained and cannot pay for ankle monitoring.
“It allows for a sense of equality and fairness with regard to indigent detainees and it allows for a flex capacity for the jail to mitigate ongoing Covid issues,” Haine said.
He said the program would be cost effective as the county would pay for the ankle bracelet monitoring for indigent individuals but detainees who have the ability to pay for the monitoring would have the opportunity but would have to fund it themselves.
“We think that’s a good resolution to the issue,” Haine said.
Haine said the approach reduces the cost for the county and addresses “an unfairness where ankle bracelet monitoring was available to only those with means, which we don’t think is appropriate.”
During the December Judiciary Committee, Connor reported that mitigation efforts were helping to slow the spread of Covid-19 within the jail.
He explained that they established three zones: red, yellow and green. When inmates were in the red zone, they were quarantined with no contact. Committee chair Mike Walters congratulated the Sheriff's Department for its work in mitigating and coping with Covid-19.