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New Program Shortens County Jail Stays for Probation Violators | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

January 16, 2023

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click to enlarge DANNY WICENTOWSKI The St. Louis County Jail in Clayton.

The length of stay for detainees held at the St. Louis County Jail for probation violations has decreased substantially since the implementation of a new program at the jail, researchers at the University of Missouri–St. Louis say.

A new report commissioned by the MacArthur Foundation found average lengths of stay for offenders who violated their probation decreased from 65 days to 28 days after the county’s Expedited Probation Program was implemented in 2017 to decrease the amount of probation violators in jail.

While probation violations represent just a small percentage of St. Louis County’s total jail population, those jailed for probation violations tend to stay in jail substantially longer than other detainees, the study found.

Most individuals jailed for violating their probation are detained for nonviolent offenses, such as failing to maintain employment or meeting with their probation officers, says Beth Huebner, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at UMSL.

Yet they still tend to stay in jail substantially longer than other detainees, Huebner adds. Most were simply waiting on the legal system to move.

“Before, people were coming into jail and waiting a long time just to have their case heard,” Heubner says.

Missouri’s Division of Probation and Parole assigned two probation officers to the St. Louis County Jail who worked with judges to negotiate release — instead of detainees who presented no risk to the community waiting for a hearing in the jail.

Probation officers in the jail also started working with jail case managers to identify detainees who would’ve been better served with mental health or substance abuse. A probation officer met with these individuals to send them directly to services outside of the jail if they presented no risk to the community.

“We wanted to get rid of any barriers to being released in the community and doing well,” she says.

The Expedited Probation Program did not reduce readmissions. People on probation who participated in EEP were actually more likely to be readmitted to jail, the study found — possibly because of greater surveillance and additional requirements placed on them, according to the study.

Other factors could help play a role in reducing readmissions, Huebner says. And some practices have already been utilized.

The Missouri Department of Corrections made significant organizational changes during the pandemic. Probation officers started holding virtual meetings with offenders instead of requiring them to meet them in person. In the early months of the pandemic, the department provided staff with state-issued cell phones and laptops.

“As difficult as COVID was, many people on probation said they felt like they had better interactions with their probation officers during COVID because they could Zoom or text them,” Huebner says.

UMSL’s study noted that the primary reason individuals were returned to jail was because they absconded, meaning they failed to check-in with their probation officers.

Some people on probation “distrusted” the probation system, and that’s why they absconded, according to the study. Others faced barriers unique to St. Louis, such as transportation, Huebner says.

“St. Louis doesn’t have the best transit system,” she says. “A lot of people don’t live by the best jobs, and it gets expensive when they have to commute a long way.”

Probation and parole officers are starting to understand barriers like these even more as relationships between officers and offenders deepen, Huebner says, and will explain them to judges.

“Kind of a silver lining to these changes we had to make during COVID is that probation seems to have improved,” Huebner says.

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

8 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

8 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

8 months ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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