Howell Township police chief...New Jersey bail reform has cost the township $100,000 in overtime.
US Bail Reform reported on the issue on Mar 19, 2017...
Howell Twp, NJ – Bail Reform Impacting Municipal Courts with Increased Case Load
The Howell Patch did a follow up to the story Mar 26, 2017...
Bail Reform Has Cost $100,000 In Overtime: Howell Police Chief
The bail reform act that went into effect Jan. 1 has cost the Howell Township Police Department an extra $100,000 in overtime, Howell's police chief says.
Howell Police Chief Andrew J. Kudrick shared an article about the issues with bail reform from the U.S. Bail Reform News website, which has been sharing reports about the impact of the state's bail reform law.
The report quoted an article from the Howell Times that reported Court Administrator Rosemary O'Donnell said the bail reform law has doubled the caseload of the municipal court.
“Before, we would only handle disorderly persons or petty disorderly persons cases. Now, we are getting remanded from the prosecutor’s office and the criminal division fourth-degree and, believe it or not, a lot of third-degree cases,” O’Donnell said, according to the Howell Times report.
The bail reform act, which took effect Jan. 1, aimed to prevent poor defendants who could not afford bail from being held on minor charges while affluent defendants were able to post bail on more serious crimes.
"Although unintended, the consequences of the newly enacted Bail Reform has led the police department to increase overtime by $100,000," Kudrick said. "This has resulted in the loss of a police officer position as well as decreased coverage on the road. Officers are now spending a significant amount of time processing offenders and criminal complaints because of procedural requirements."
"Although the actual costs and impact won't be realized until year's end, the law abiding public has been negatively effected since the implementation on January 1st," Kudrick said.