Title
A MOTION requesting the executive to evaluate programs to appropriately reduce the average daily population in King County adult secure detention facilities and provide funding recommendations.
Body
WHEREAS, King County's policy, since adoption of the Adult Justice Operational Master Plan in 2002, is that county secure detention facilities shall only be used for public safety purposes, and
WHEREAS, as a result of that policy, for two decades King County has developed alternatives to secure detention, including offering diversion programs, providing treatment resources and providing community services to address root causes of public safety concerns and reduce recidivism, and
WHEREAS, in recent years, King County has undertaken initiatives to further explore alternatives to secure detention and continue shifting the criminal justice paradigm from secure detention to addressing underlying social justice causes, such as access to behavioral health services, housing, employment and other social services, and
WHEREAS, in the 2017-2018 Biennial Budget Ordinance, Ordinance 18409, the council included Proviso P1, Section 19, requiring a report on options for providing work education release and electronic home detention, and
WHEREAS, in 2017, recognizing the importance of maintaining viable alternatives to secure detention, the council created the special committee on alternatives to secure detention, and
WHEREAS, in response to the council including Proviso P3 in the 2019-2020 Biennial Budget Ordinance, Ordinance 18835, Section 19, King County formed the pretrial reform working group including representatives from the department of public defense, the prosecuting attorney's office, the superior and districts courts, the department of adult and juvenile detention, the council, the department of judicial administration and community and nonprofit organizations working to reduce pretrial incarceration, and
WHEREAS, in 2019, the pretrial reform working group d...
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