GLOBE — At last week’s regular meeting of the Gila County Board of Supervisors, the board approved a stimulus grant from the U.S. Department of Justice in the amount of $268,310. The money will go to the county’s Probation Department and will be used to hire two new probation officers for the period of two years.

The new probation officers will be charged with reducing the county’s jail population and saving the county money. Ray Garcia, currently the Acting Chief Probation’s Officer, presented the agenda item to the board. Garcia reported that the county could save a substantial amount of money and reduce the county’s jail population by 10 percent by releasing nonviolent mental health and substance abuse suspects who are waiting for their trial.

Garcia said that it costs the county $68 per day to house pretrial inmates. The new probation officers, one for northern Gila County and one for Southern Gila County, would conduct a risk assessment on each inmate and then make a recommendation about release to the judge. The county would form partnerships with organizations like Simpatico and Community Bridges to aid in releasing pretrial inmates with mental health or substance abuse problems.

In other business before the board, a discussion was held about the upcoming County Supervisors Association (CSA) meeting. The CSA is a group that advocates for county concerns at the state government.



For the complete article see the 11-04-2009 issue.

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