Monday, Feb. 13, 2006 | 12:30 p.m.
Faced with limited jail space, spiraling costs and a growing number of arrests in one of the nation's fastest growing cities, North Las Vegas could alleviate the problems by turning more to alternative sentences such as home confinement, a consultant has recommended.
The proposal by San Jose, Calif.w-based Management Partners is prompting discussion among the city's Municipal Court judges, police, prosecutors and city staff over whether North Las Vegas should expand alternative sentencing programs.
Any chance of expanding the number of misdemeanor offenders who swap jail for an alternative sentence requires the approval of the city's two Municipal Court judges, Warren VanLandschoot and Sean Hoeffgen.
And that may be a long shot, given that North Las Vegas judges in 2005 used home confinement in the city of 182,000 much less frequently than those in neighboring communities.
VanLandschoot and Hoeffgen sentenced 33 people to home confinement last year, well below the 236 sentenced in Henderson. Las Vegas had 316 people on home confinement, but that number includes pre-trial cases. Clark County, which does not track numbers on an annual basis, averages about 170 felony and misdemeanor offenders on house arrest at any time.
VanLandschoot, a former police officer, said he does not get many requests for home confinement from prosecutors and defense attorneys, but readily admits that he is not a big fan of the concept.
"I don't believe in house arrest when you should be in jail," VanLandschoot said. "People who commit crimes shouldn't be home watching television or drinking a beer. If you need to be in jail, you will be in jail. I will find the space. That is what the citizens want."
Hoeffgen declined to comment, allowing VanLandschoot to speak for him.
The city's consultant called on judges to pursue more alternative sentences to deal with arrests, growing at 10 percent annually. The North Las Vegas Jail has averaged 2.48 inmates per 1,000 population, compared to one inmate per 1,000 people in Las Vegas.
On Wednesday, the 880-bed jail held 797 inmates. That includes 360 locally-arrested inmates and 437 being held under a contract with the U.S. Marshals Service. Not counting revenue from its federal and county contracts, the city has spent $13 million a year on detention operations, well above the $7 million a year spent by Henderson, the consultant said.
"If the jail population could be reduced or stabilized without compromising public safety, substantial savings could be achieved," the study said. "There is substantial support in law enforcement and judicial systems for alternative sentencing as a more economical way to manage nonviolent, property and drug offenders."
VanLandschoot said he does not give the report much credence. He suggests the best way for the city to free up jail space is ending its contract with the federal government.
The U.S. Marshals Service, which has a contract with North Las Vegas to house up to 450 inmates through 2017, recently agreed to pay the city about $1 million more a year. The city is seeking even more money.
North Las Vegas' home confinement program is administrated by Las Vegas, which also oversees prisoners from Henderson and Boulder City. Inmates pay a $100 orientation fee and $12 a day to be in the program.
Robert Galante, who supervises the program Las Vegas started in 1991, said he does not understand why North Las Vegas is lagging behind other local cities in using house arrest. After peaking in the mid-1990s with about 900 cases annually, home confinement across the area has remained between 600 and 800 in recent years, Galante said.
"I am a big proponent of home confinement for the right defendants," Galante said. "Why not put most misdemeanor offenders on home confinement and free up jail space for more violent people?"
Home confinement, which averages about 30 days, keeps families together and gives offenders the ability to stay on the job, Galante said.
Those using the program can leave the house only for work unless they receive permission to go to the store, doctor or run other errands, Galante said.
During the hours the person is to be at home, a computer calls at random times to confirm that he is in fact there.
"House arrest is difficult," Galante said. "You are accountable."
VanLandschoot believes home confinement should be used judiciously. No one with a history of violence or who has been convicted of DUI or domestic violence should be allowed to serve his sentence at home, he said.
"What happens if a drunk driver kills someone's family member when they are on house arrest?" VanLandschoot said.
Other local cities, though, take a more expansive view toward house arrest.
Boulder City, where there were only six home confinements last year, plans to pursue more house arrests in lieu of jail for DUI, domestic violence and other offenses, said City Attorney Dave Olsen.
"We are in the process of trying to expand it," Olsen said. "We feel it is a more cost-effective way for punishment. We are not paying for that guy to be in jail (in Henderson). People get so focused on putting people in jail, but they lose sight that it doesn't solve the problem. It is just an expensive way of slapping them on the hand."
In 2005 North Las Vegas Police recorded 10,275 arrests, 3,200 of which resulted in people being sentenced to jail. In contrast, in 1999 North Las Vegas had 4,187 people remanded to jail out of 5,782 arrests.
VanLandschoot said the numbers show that he has not needed to jail as many offenders because, after serving their sentence, most are not repeating crimes.
"It tells me that they got the message that if you mess up in North Las Vegas, we are going to put you in jail, so you better do what you need to do," VanLandschoot said. "That is what we want to see, people complying and not recommitting the acts."
Defense attorney Ken Frizzell said North Las Vegas may have fewer home confinements than other cities because many offenders are transients and cannot afford to go through costly monitoring.
"I think Judge VanLandschoot is really trying to clean up the town, which is not a bad thing," Frizzell said. "He is figuring these people would do better having the time off the streets."
Despite VanLandschoot's skepticism toward home confinement, the judge is liberal when it comes to offering alternative sentences for defendants to work off fines, Frizzell said.
The city has as many as 2,500 people a year in its expanding work program who perform tasks ranging from graffiti removal to picking up trash, said Robert Jones, who supervises the alternative sentencing programs. The courts also assign defendants to nonprofit organizations for community service, which is automatically part of DUI and domestic violence sentences.
VanLandschoot said he is a big proponent of using alternative sentences for young first-time offenders to help them get their lives turned around. In one program, young adults spend up to 40 hours cleaning up the booking area of the jail.
"We have alternatives," VanLandschoot said. "We aren't throwing everybody in jail. Youngsters who have gone off on the wrong track can be rehabilitated. After they spend 40 hours cleaning up, they don't want to be there again."
North Las Vegas also started a program in September where as part of a sentence, the offender wears a bracelet monitoring whether he drinks. The program is used for DUI and even domestic violence offenders.
Brian Wargo can be reached at 259-4011 or at [email protected].
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