It’s a great system
When the interim booking center opened a year ago inside Washington County jail, police, district judges and jail and county officials hoped it would provide a safer and more effective way of handling prisoners who needed to be arraigned on criminal charges after hours and on weekends.
Twelve months after that first arraignment, all those involved, from the police who drop off prisoners to jail officials who process paperwork and the district judges who are called out to do the arraignments, agree the system is working well.
“It has been a very successful, multiagency project that has gone exceptionally well,” said John Temas, warden at the jail. “The mission was to get officers back out on the street instead of baby-sitting prisoners at night and on holidays and weekends. And I think it has done that thanks to everyone’s cooperation from the police, district judges, jail staff, court administration and the county commissioners.”
Under the new system and by order of Washington County Court, the on-call district judge has to be available for arraignments at 11 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. on weekdays and at 7:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. on weekends and holidays. They also have to be available around the clock to sign search and arrest warrants and to handle emergency protection-from-abuse orders.
State police, along with the Washington and Charleroi Regional police departments, are the agencies that most frequently use the interim booking center, Temas said.
Lt. Douglas Bartoe, patrol section supervisor for state police Troop B headquartered in Washington, said the new system has helped immensely.
“It used to be the troopers had to wait because the district judges were called out every four hours,” Bartoe said. “But now they type up the charges, drop the suspect off at the jail and are back out on the road.”
As with any new system, Bartoe said there was a learning curve.
“I appreciate the cooperation of everyone from the president judge to Temas and Larry Garner at the booking center. And the district judges have been great about coming out when we need them for warrants,” Bartoe said. “It has made our job easier and that is good for everyone. It definitely has helped us by getting the troopers back on the street protecting people.”
Bartoe said there is also a cost savings with the new system because less overtime is incurred.
Washington police Chief Chris Luppino is also seeing a cost savings.
“There is absolutely savings in overtime costs,” Luppino said. “Because of our minimum staffing levels, two officers would have to be called out to handle patrols while the officer making the arrest had to type the charges and wait to arraign the suspect.
“It takes 15 to 20 minutes to type the charges in most cases,” he added. “Now the officer just types the charges, drops them off at the jail and goes back out on the road.”
Charleroi Regional police Chief Eric Porter believes his department is also seeing savings.
“Sometimes we would have to call out another officer,” Porter said. “Now the officers don’t have to wait. They can prepare the charges and drop the suspect off at the jail.”
The new system is working well for the 10 district judges in the county who take turns handling night duty assignments. They are on call for seven days, starting on Wednesday mornings through Tuesday nights.
“Every so often we have a problem, but the jail has been great,” said District Judge Gary Havelka, who has an office in Burgettstown and is president of the Washington County Association of Special Court Judges. “It helps with safety because the officers don’t have to transport them to our offices.”
Havelka said he has heard no complaints from the district judges.
“I am positive not many miss the 4 a.m. call out,” Havelka said of the early morning call in the previous system when the judges could be called every for hours on nights and weekends at 4 and 8 a.m., noon, 4 and 8 p.m. and midnight. “I know personally, I don’t miss it.”
“There are times we get call out for warrants or PFAs,” he added. “We do what we need to accommodate the situation.”
Both Havelka and District Judge Jay Weller, who has an office in North Strabane Township, had high praise for the job done by the jail staff in handling the paperwork needed for the video arraignments.
“The new after-hours system is a huge success and largely because of the efforts of the administration and staff at the jail,” Weller said. “I regularly interact with them. Not only are they a pleasure to work with, they are truly professional.”
“They are our eyes, ears and hands as we arraign individuals with the computerized video system,” he added. “They assure that both the defendant and court receives all the necessary paperwork and assist defendants in making calls to friends or family to let them know their whereabouts.”
Weller said perhaps the biggest advantage is getting the police officers back out patrolling the streets in a timely manner. Weller admits he was concerned that the booking center was slow in developing.
“In retrospect, I think the jail administration took their time out of an abundance of caution to make sure they and all involved parties knew exactly what was expected and required of them,” he said. “In all fairness, it was the jail staff being given the extra duties and responsibilities, As a result of their due diligence, they got it right.”
Luppino said the new system was long overdue.
“It has been one of the best changes I have seen in my 23 years as a police officer,” Luppino said.