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graphic showing palm beach county and the areas of focus for this project

PU​​RPOSE

The CJC received the Safety and Justice Challenge Planning Grant through the MacArthur Foundation in 2015. The CJC was one of twenty (20) sites selected from 191 applicants across the country. The first year $150,000 grant was a data-driven exercise that studied ways to reduce the use of the local jail and racial disparities. At the end of the planning grant in early 2016, an application was submitted to the MacArthur Foundation to implement system changes and/or programming to address identifiable issues and become a Core Site. In March, the CJC was notified that it was chosen for another $150,000 award to continue the project in 2016 as a Partner Site. In May 2017, the CJC was invited by MacArthur to apply again for up to $ 2 million for two years as a Core Site. In 2017, MacArthur awarded PBC CJC with the maximum amount of $2 million for two years and then another $1.4 million in 2020.

Safety Plus Justice Challenge
On February 8, 2023 PBC CJC was selected to receive an additional $875,000 to sustain its progress toward safely reducing the PBC jail population and addressing racial inequities in collaboration with community members. The grant marks a total of $4,350,000 awarded to Palm Beach County to participate in a national initiative to reduce over-incarceration and eliminate racial inequities in local criminal justice systems by changing the way America thinks about and uses jails. The key strategies listed below will be sustained over the next two years.​

BASELINE Average Daily Population (ADP) = 2283 (May 2016)
Reduction from baseline ADP = 21% (as December 2023)
Baseline Length of Stay (LOS) = 29 (May 2016)
Increase from baseline LOS = 4% (as December 2023)
Baseline Admissions 2473 (May 2016)
Reduction from baseline admissions = 30% (as December 2023)

  1. Reduce pretrial jail population for low/some medium risk defendants (ADP reduction) by enhancing the Pretrial Services Program
  2. Diversion and warrant reduction for low-level defendants (ADP reduction)
    1. Expansion of the court date notification system that now includes notifications for pretrial appointments.
    2. Frequent Users Systems Engagement Project pilot “Next Steps”
  3. Case processing efficiencies for pretrial inmates (ADP reduction)
    1. Court Navigators for the State Attorney and Public Defender offices
      1. Identify and design release plans for low/some medium-risk inmates in jail 3 days
      2. Access immediate resources for inmates waiting on behavioral health services in the community
    2. Support of Justice Management Institute (JMI)
      1. Reduce average length of stay (ALOS) for the largest pretrial inmate population
      2. Analyze case processing and recommend other efficiencies to reduce jail ALOS

  1. Continuation/expansion of the Text Reminder System (one year);
  2. Continuation (one year) and an evaluation (two years) of the “Next Steps” Frequent Utilizers Pilot;
  3. Continuation and expansion of community engagement through “Dialogues to Change” to assist with the development of a system-wide strategic plan with increased emphasis on racial equity through coordinated dialogues (two years);
  4. Continuation of Pretrial Client Release Project provided by the Public Defender’s Office that includes rapid housing, peer mentoring and supportive services;
  5. Continuation of the Pretrial Service position for supervision of the Supervised Own Recognizance (SOR) levels (one year);
  6. Data research and enhancements to improve decision-making; and deeper-dive into racial disparities
  7. Develop a system-wide strategic plan
  8. Mobile Probation Bus to reduce arrests as a result of violations of probation

  1. Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities
    1. Community Engagement with “Dialogues to Change”
    2. Analyst Position to work with Community engagement:
      1. Identify drivers through data, observations, and interviews
      2. Develop recommendations
      3. Create specific goals and success measures
      4. Conduct periodic assessments.
    3. Continued support from W. Haywood Burns Institute
    4. Sequential Intercept Mapping
    5. Community Court initiative
    6. Pretrial Services position
    7. Mobile Probation Unit (MPU)
  2. Data Capacity, Analysis and Evaluation
    1. Data Dashboard
    2. Jail Data
    3. Data Use Agreements (CJC and ISLG)
    4. Court data
    5. Arrest and non-arrest police field contract data

ACHIEVEMENTS: 2023 NACo Award for PBC MPU

 

From Left to right: Regenia Herring, Executive Director, Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Commission; Verdenia C. Baker, County Administrator, Palm Beach County; Todd Bonlarron, Assistant County Administrator, Palm Beach County; Justine Patterson, Regional Director, Florida Department of Corrections; and John Thompson, Assistant Regional Director, Florida Department of Corrections.


 

Palm Beach County has made a significant investment in jail population control by reducing system inefficiencies and targeting support for populations with disproportionate jail use. This investment has resulted in an incarceration rate 58% below the national average, but there is still more room for reducing the Palm Beach County jail. Notable initiatives include the establishment of a Pretrial Services Agency, Drug Court, and reentry programs. In its 35-year history, the Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) has facilitated reform efforts for all facets of the criminal justice system, including law enforcement, courts, and corrections. CJC members understand that an overused jail is a symptom of an inefficient and ineffective system. It consumes 14 cents of every county tax dollar; an immense amount of funds that are needed in other areas. In addition, studies prove that pretrial detention causes disruption in the stability of families and communities. It leads to higher re-arrest rates and produces worse case outcomes with more back-end incarceration.
Over the next two years the county will sustain: improved case processing efficiencies for pretrial inmates who are not released; quicker access for those inmates awaiting a treatment bed in the community; a targeted project to address frequent users of the jail, homeless and behavioral health systems; and measures to reduce racial and ethnic disparities, including implicit bias training for all criminal justice agencies.

 Lead Agency
Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Commission 

Partners
Public Defender, State Attorney, Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office, Judiciary, Clerk of Court, Florida Department of Corrections, U.S. Attorney, Palm Beach County School Board, West Palm Beach Police Department, Clergy, Palm Healthcare Foundation, Six Healthier Together Communities, Southeast Florida Behavioral Health Network, and Community Partners of South Florida.

Population Size
1,533,801 (US Census Bureau July 1, 2023 Estimate)

Jail Capacity
3,116

Problem

  • Despite having an incarceration rate 58% below the national average, there is still more room for reducing the Palm Beach County jail population.
  • Palm Beach County's jail cost taxpayers 14 cents of every county tax dollar.
  • African Americans are significantly overrepresented in the county jail, making up 19% of the county population but 57% of the jail population.
  • African Americans (44 days) and Hispanics (40 days) have a much longer average length of stay as compared to whites (25 days).

 
Solutions

  • Expansion of the text message-based court data notification system to reduce failures to appear and prevent warrants causing low-level defendants from spending time in jail.
  • Frequent Users Systems Engagement (Next Steps) project to break the cycle of incarceration and homelessness for frequent low-level defendants with behavioral health challenges.
  • Assessments of our case processing timeframes and employ strategies for improved efficiencies to reduce the average length of stay in jail. 
  • Continued Community Engagement  and Dialogues to Change
  • Build greater data capacity to analyze and understand the system and address issues.

Outcome
Supported with $875,000 from the Safety and Justice Challenge, Palm Beach County will sustain smart solutions to further reduce the local jail population over the next two years and address racial and ethnic disparities.

Past Awards and press releases

Past Core Strategies​​

CORE STRATEGIES

The MacArthur Core Team developed three core strategies and two supportive strategies that collectively target a jail reduction of 16.7% by April 2019. This represented a reduction of 369 people less each day in the Palm Beach County jail. The strategies are listed below.

BASELINE Average Daily Population (ADP) = 2,210
TARGET = 16.7% Reduction (369) = 1,841 by April 30, 2019
CORE STRATEGIES

  1. Reduce pretrial jail population for low/some medium risk defendants (ADP reduction 3.0% or 66)
    1. Risk Assessment Instrument and Risk Management Matrix
    2. Second Look Procedure
    3. Enhance Pretrial Services Program
  2. Diversion and warrant reduction for low-level defendants (ADP Reduction 3.3% or 72)
    1. Frequent Users Systems Engagement Project (FUSE) (ADP Reduction .55% or 12)
    2. Court Date Notification System (ADP Reduction 2.7% or 60)
    3. Driving Under Suspension (DUS) Court
    4. Operation Fresh Start
    5. Administrative dismissal of warrants
  3. Case processing efficiencies for pretrial inmates (ADP Reduction 10.4% or 231)
    1. Court Navigators for the State Attorney and Public Defender Offices to:
      1. Identify and design release plans for low/some medium risk inmates in jail 3 days
      2. Access immediate resources for inmates waiting for behavioral health services in the community
    2. Enlist the support of Justice Management Institute (JMI) to:
      1. Reduce average length of stay for the largest pretrial inmate populations who remain in jail and are ultimately sentenced to state prison, time served, and probation; and
      2. Analyze our case processing and recommend other efficiencies to reduce jail ALOS

Past supporting strategies as well as the outcomes

SUPPORTIVE STRATEGIES

  1. Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities
    1. Community Engagement Task Force (CETF)
    2. Analyst Position to work with the Core Team and CETF to:
      1. Identify drivers through data, observations, and interviews
      2. Develop recommendations
      3. Create specific goals and success measures
      4. Conduct periodic assessments
    3. Implicit Bias training for all system actors
    4. Create "Bench Cards" for judges to combat implicit bias
    5. Expand "Ban the Box" and employment opportunities for reentry clients
    6. Enlist support from W. Haywood Burns Institute
  2. Data Capacity, Analysis and Evaluation
    1. Data Dashboard
    2. Data Use Agreement (CJC and ISLG)
    3. Jail data
    4. Court data
    5. Arrest and non-arrest police field contact data

Data and Evaluations