Funding for a county program was bumped up this week to help address the ongoing overcrowding at the Platte County Detention Center.
The Platte County Commission on Monday approved $142,000 in additional funding for electronic monitoring of criminal defendants.
“Electronic monitoring allows certain criminal defendants to stay at home rather than in jail until the end of court proceedings,” said district commissioner Joe Vanover. “Judges carefully consider which defendants should receive electronic monitoring rather than remain in jail,” he added.
For months the county has been trying to cope with an overcrowded jail. During the same county commission session, they voted to increase spending to pay for inmates to be kept in jails outside of Platte County.
“Platte County is lucky to have good neighbors who can help us while we figure out what to do with this situation,” Vanover said.
Currently it is routine for 10 to 20 Platte County inmates to be housed in Buchanan County. Previously, overflow inmates were kept in the Clay County jail, which recently reached maximum capacity and forced the change to Buchanan County.
“The commission supports efforts to reduce overcrowding in the jail,” Vanover said. “We are exploring multiple ways to deal with overcrowding. If there are certain defendants that are safe for house arrest, we should find a way to pay for it.”
Most of the additional funding will come from approximately $100,000 that had been set aside for new furniture at the courthouse. The remaining money will come from the county’s contingency fund.
For a few years, the commission has funded a small budget line so that the courts could pay for house arrest for some criminal defendants who were deemed safe enough and who met low income guidelines. Last year the budget for electronic monitoring was increased substantially.