LAWTON — A new board will oversee Comanche County’s pretrial release program to make sure the program succeeds, and clients are complying with its requirements.
Comanche County’s Board of Commissioners voted 3-0 Dec. 12 to form the Comanche County Pretrial Release Program Advisory Board, which will monitor the program.
Public defender Debbie Maddox said when county officials started talking about a pretrial release program a year ago, they discussed establishing an advisory board that could provide regular updates for the commissioners and other officials.
“As we’re kind of building that program, it’s important that we all kind of keep on top of it,” said Maddox, who works for the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System. “And so, that was our goal was to bring all of the stakeholders together each month so that we were all aware of how well the program was going, if we could improve it, and how to move on from there.”
The county recently hired the Norman-based company Court Related Services LLC, which provides court supervision and drug testing services, to run the county’s pretrial release program. The company operates in Cleveland, Comanche, Garvin, McClain and Tillman counties.
Court Related Services supervises inmates who have been released from jail and are on personal and/or GPS electronic monitoring.
The program also provides additional services depending on clients’ needs, which may include:
• An initial assessment to determine clients’ risks and needs.
• Mental health assessments from qualified providers.
• Daily assessments of inmates while they are in jail.
The program is designed to reduce the jail population while promoting public safety, according to an agreement setting up the advisory board. To meet those goals, the program includes a weekly sanctions hearing docket to ensure clients are complying with the rules and conditions set by the judge assigned to the case. Clients who do not obey the rules are required to appear at the next sanctions hearing docket for judicial review.
The judge may modify rules and conditions of supervision for clients who are out of compliance, remove clients from the program and remand them to jail to await final disposition of the case. The judge may also send the client back to jail for a short time to correct minor violations.
The advisory board will meet every 60 days to receive Court Related Services reports and examine the program to make sure it is effective, according to the agreement.
Board members will include:
• The District 2 commissioner.
• Representatives from Court Related Services, Comanche County District Attorney’s Office, the Comanche County Detention Center and the local Indigent Defense Services office.
• A Comanche County judge, appointed by the presiding judge.