After the regional jail  summit several weeks ago, several of the best practices for cutting costs have been implemented or are in the development stages all across our state.

We have received numerous call and emails about one of our own that we have started here in Cabell County. There really is no title for the process other than simply "the pre-trialmeeting", but it does reduce the number of inmate days, which in turn yields Cabell County great monetary return.

Each Wednesday morning a member of the prosecutor's office, representatives from Cabell County Alternative Sentencing programs(home confinement and day report), the public defender's office, the commission office, the Chief of Police of the City of Huntington, as well as victim's services gather to discuss processes for releasing inmates that are awaiting trail and possibly a candidate for alternative sentencing.

The criteria studied includes, prior record, current offense and history in these programs. They also determine as to what program would best suit the particular individual if alternative pre trial supervision is appropriate for release. This may include drug screens, check -ins or monitoring through home confinement bracelet or GPS.

On average we are able to discuss 10-15 incarcerates weekly for potential release. Our pre-trial officers also attend court daily, as well as meet daily with Home Confinement and officials of the judiciary to ensure that nonviolent offenders that are appropriate for release aren't adding additional burden to our jail costs and fees.

For further information on our meetings or programs I invite you to contact our offices of Alternative Sentencing, Prosecutors office or the Commission Office. We also are always looking for new and creative ideas for programming and reduction of recidivism thus reducing jail costs while maintaining public safety.