The pretrial services debtate is not new, but it is heating up in Volusia County, Florida. Over the last year, more than 5,000 people have been released through the county's pre trial services program.
These are of course people that have been accused of minor crimes and are not thought to be a threat to the community.
On one side of the debate, bail bondsmen and sympathetic politicians. Proposed legislation that would have made deep cuts to the programs narrowly failed in the last legislative session.
On the other side of the argument are the Volusia County leaders that believe the program saves money by reducing over crowding. They consequently want to keep the pre trial services intact.
Volusia's program costs the taxpayers about $1.3 million annually. If the program were eliminated, it is estimated that one in four people who currently participate in pretrial release prgroams wouldn't be able to afford bail.
The bills that surfaced last year in the Senate and House would restrict pre trial release program participants to those that are poor. However, some analysts say keeping more people out of the pre trial release program would actually cost the taxpayers $2.7 million. The reason being that those not eligible would remain in jail and force the government to pay for them.
This debate is not likely to be over anytime soon. However, counties and states across the country keep a watchful eye over pre trial release programs in other jurisdictions for affirmations of their decisions one way or another.
