ARTICLE 11F. PRETRIAL RELEASE PROGRAMS.

§62-11F-1. Applicability.

This article applies to adults charged with one or more misdemeanors or felonies and who are incarcerated in a regional jail prior to adjudication due to their inability to post bond.

§62-11F-2. Establishment of pretrial release programs.

(a) Legislative findings and purpose. -- It is the purpose of pretrial release programs to employ recommendations from the Council of State Government's Justice Center's Analyses and Policy Options to Reduce Spending on Corrections and Reinvest in Strategies to Increase Public Safety, by providing for uniform statewide risk assessment and monitoring of those released prior to trial, facilitating a statewide response to the problem of overcrowded regional jails and costs to county commissions.

(b) Any county, circuit or combination thereof that establishes a pretrial program pursuant to this article shall establish a local community pretrial committee that consists of:

(1) A prosecutor, or his or her designee;

(2) A county commissioner, or his or her designee;

(3) A sheriff, or his or her designee;

(4) An executive director of a community corrections program, or his or her designee;

(5) A chief probation officer, or his or her designee; and

(6) A member of the criminal defense bar.

(c) Pretrial release programs may monitor, supervise and assist defendants released prior to trial.

(d) Nothing in this article should be construed to prohibit a court from requiring a defendant to post a secured bond as a condition of pretrial release.

(e) In addition to funding provided pursuant to subsection (c), section three of this article, pretrial release programs may be funded by appropriations made to the Supreme Court of Appeals for such purpose.

§62-11F-3. Pretrial release program guidelines.

(a) The Supreme Court of Appeals has complete oversight and authority over all pretrial services.

(b) The Supreme Court of Appeals shall establish recommended guidelines for pretrial programs to use when ordering pretrial release for defendants whose pretrial risk assessment indicates that they are an appropriate candidate for pretrial release.

(c) The Community Corrections Subcommittee of the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction, pursuant to section two, article eleven-c of this chapter, shall approve policy and funding for the development, maintenance and evaluation of pretrial release programs. Any county, circuit or combination thereof that establishes a pretrial program intended to provide pretrial release services shall submit a grant proposal to the Community Corrections Subcommittee of the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction for review and approval.

§62-11F-4. Pretrial release assessment.

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia may adopt a standardized pretrial risk assessment for use by pretrial release programs to aid in making pretrial decisions under article one-c of this chapter.

§62-11F-5. Role of pretrial release programs.

A pretrial release program established pursuant to this article shall:

(1) Collect and present the necessary information, present risk assessment and make release recommendations to the court;

(2) Present information to the court relating to the risk defendants may pose in failing to appear in court or of threatening the safety of the community or any other person and, consistent with court policy, develop release recommendations responding to risk;

(3) Develop and provide appropriate and effective supervision for all persons released pending adjudication who are assigned supervision as a condition of release;

(4) Monitor compliance of released defendants with the requirements of assigned release conditions;

(5) Promptly inform the court of all apparent violations of pretrial release conditions or arrests of persons released pending trial, including those directly supervised by pretrial services as well as those released under other forms of conditional release, and recommend appropriate modifications of release conditions;

(6) Coordinate the services of other agencies, individuals or organizations that may serve as custodians for released defendants, and advise the court as to their appropriateness, availability, reliability and capacity relating to pretrial release conditions;

(7) Review the status of detained defendants on an ongoing basis for any changes in eligibility for release options and facilitate their release as soon as feasible and appropriate;

(8) Develop and operate an accurate information management system to support prompt identification, information collections and presentation, risk assessment, release conditions selection, compliance monitoring and detention review functions essential to an effective pretrial release program; and

(9) Remind persons released before trial of their court dates to attempt to facilitate their court appearance.