ROCK ISLAND COUNTY, Ill. — Rock Island County Court Services has requested the county board for $45,000 for more GPS ankle monitors.
Court services says the Illinois Pretrial Fairness Act, which went into effect in September 2023, has drastically increased the amount of defendants in need of a monitoring bracelet. This has led the department to deplete its annual $20,000 bracelet budget in just five months.
The Illinois Pretrial Fairness Act gets rid of cash bail in the state, to help prevent wealthy people from bonding out while those with less means are left sitting in jail awaiting trial. The act, which was officially passed several years prior in January 2021, also prohibits pretrial detention for most defendants, among other things.
"But the only alternative to actually holding [defendants] in jail, if they want to monitor them, would be on a GPS bracelet," said Derrick Hendrickx, director of the county's court services.
Consequently, the department has seen the number of needed bracelets skyrocket.
Historically, the county had an average of 10 people, at any given time, that were being monitored by the GPS devices. Since September, that number has increased to 50-60 people at any given time. That's a 500% increase.
"Four years ago, we would have three backups on our shelves," Hendrickx said. "Right now, we try to keep at least 12-15 on our shelves at all times."
The county's court services annual budget runs from December 1 - November 30. The annual budgets are drawn up in the summer.
When Hendrickx and his team formed this year's budget, in summer 2023, $20,000 was allocated for GPS ankle bracelets. Court services depleted that amount by April 2024.
In mid-May, court services went to the Rock Island County Board and requested an additional $45,000 to provide GPS bracelets through the rest of the year.
The monitoring devices are contracted out through a company in Houston. Rock Island County can receive as many bracelets as needed, and is only charged when the bracelets are in use.
Currently, the county is paying $3.25 a day for each device that's turned on. That was recently negotiated down from the previous rate of $4.75 a day.
"So we're able to save $1.15 on each bracelet," Hendrickx said. "When we have 50 to 55, 60 people on them at a time, that's gonna be pretty big cost savings over the course of a year."
Hendrickx says the amount of time that a defendant must wear the device varies from case to case. Some individuals need it for as little as ten days, while others wear the bracelets for a year and a half, even up to two years at a time.
The county does receive some revenue back from this program. As of mid-May, court services reported $24,735.41 received this fiscal year. However, Hendrickx says that wouldn't have covered the increasing need without additional help from the county.
Rock Island officials are able to log into the bracelet's software and see each device's location and movements, whenever they desire. However, 24/7 monitoring of the ankle bracelets is done with the Houston company. That means despite the increased usage, there has not been a need for additional manpower in Rock Island County.
As for the Rock Island County Jail, Sheriff Darren Hart tells News 8 the 2018/2019 average daily jail population was 281. Present day, that number has dropped to an average of 176 inmates.
"That I have seen so far, there has been no cost savings due to the PTF Act. Our jail facilities require minimum staffing levels to operate efficiently. That number has not decreased because of PTF, nor has the cost of providing services such as medical care, food, general supplies, etc.," Sheriff Hart told News 8. "Although our average daily population has decreased, the number of individuals being processed has remained somewhat steady. Just far fewer individuals are being detained due to PTF guidelines, and instead are being placed on electronic monitoring."
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