Class A misdemeanor offenses include: intentional child abuse, lewdness involving a child, sexual battery, assault causing substantial bodily injury, stalking, negligent homicide, DUI involving bodily injury, voyeurism with a recording device, reckless endangerment, elder abuse and vehicle burglary.
Salt Lake County's jail overcrowding crisis compromises community safety. The Salt Lake County Council recently agreed to open two unused jail housing units (128 beds) to create more space.
"You need to make sure you have jail beds available for the people who are truly dangerous," Councilman Randy Horiuchi said in a recent Tribune story. This decision was a step in the right direction. However, more changes are needed to ensure that violent offenders are not allowed to exit the "revolving door" created by jail overcrowding.
When a criminal charge is filed, Utah law requires our local judges to decide whether a warrant is appropriate and what dollar amount should be attached to the warrant. This is what we commonly refer to as bail.
The court assesses the likelihood that the defendant will appear if served a summons. The judge must also determine if the defendant "creates a substantial danger of a breach of the peace, or injury to persons or property, or danger to the community." In other words, if the defendant is found to be a flight risk or a threat to the community, the judge attaches a bail amount to mitigate that risk.
Unfortunately, in response to our county's jail overcrowding situation, the Salt Lake County jail has created a policy that ignores the court's bail determinations. The jail currently releases all defendants charged with misdemeanor offenses unless the crime involves an act of domestic violence.
This policy is carried out without any regard to the amount of bail the judge attached to the case, nor does it consider the likelihood that the defendant will voluntarily appear or whether he poses a risk of harm to the community.
This solution leaves our community with many violent offenders who are released from jail soon after being arrested by law enforcement. They are released regardless of their past criminal history or history of failure to appear for court hearings. This "revolving door" creates significant public safety concerns, especially to the victims of these crimes that rely on a court's representation that a warrant has been executed for the perpetrator.
The County Council and the county sheriff's office must work together to create jail overcrowding policy that does not automatically release violent offenders back into the community. They should allow our local judges to do their appointed task of deciding whether bail or an alternative to bail is appropriate for each case.
The courts are in the best position to determine if a defendant is a risk to our community. If this is not feasible with our current bed space, they should consider Sheriff Jim Winder's proposal to reopen the vacant Oxbow Jail.
This may come with a cost. But, after all, there's nothing more valuable than the safety of our community.
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* RYAN ROBINSON is the chief prosecuting attorney for West Valley City.
