ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (KWQC) – It’s been nearly a year since Illinois’ criminal justice reform eliminated cash bail, and authorities are still figuring out what to do.
For Rock Island County District Attorney Dora Villarreal, it is crime victims who are paying the price for Illinois’ comprehensive criminal justice reform bill, the so-called SAFE-T Act.
Under the new law, most detainees will be released while they await their court date.
“There may be cases where victims very much want the person to go to prison and we are unable to overcome that hurdle.”
Rock Island County’s top prosecutor said about half of all suspects would be eligible for immediate release. Of the remaining 50 percent, only half would be incarcerated.
This means that 75% of all suspects are released, which Villarreal says is too much.
What does this mean in the Quad Cities? She points out that car theft is not a crime that can be punished with an arrest.
“And I know that’s extremely frustrating for our community because we’ve seen a sharp increase in this area over the years,” she said.
According to Villarreal, juvenile offenders are among those most likely to reoffend after their release.
“And if we are not allowed to detain adults, we will certainly not be allowed to detain young people who sometimes commit repeat offences.”
While these are not shootings or stabbings, they are still crimes that create a sense of insecurity in the community.
Like the other police officers TV6 Investigates spoke to, Villarreal wants change.
“And I hope there are some changes to this law, either from the courts, the appellate courts, the Supreme Court or our legislators,” she said.
Each judge has his or her own style, some are stricter than others. Villarreal said they need more guidance in implementing the law.
The victims also need more protection, she said.
Villarreal points to cases in which suspects accused of trespassing returned the next day and harassed the victims.
Even violent offenders are allowed to go free under the law because they are not allowed to be imprisoned.
“Graveling a police officer is not included; raveling a doctor is not included,” she said. “I think possession of stolen motor vehicles needs to be investigated.”
“And I think some of them are more serious crimes, like burglary or weapons offenses. We need a little more guidance and the ability to keep people in custody in some of these cases.”
Villarreal said a big change in the courthouse is the separate hearing created by the reform.
Within 48 hours of arrest, the accused must have the opportunity to appear before a judge.
The arraignment will be the first appearance before a judge, she said, and the defendants will be informed of the charges and the amount of bail.
“That has now changed,” she said. “Now we have a completely different hearing. And that is our request to stay the hearing.”
There is a lot more work on the front end now than ever before, she said.
Before their first appearance, they must file separate applications containing a copy of their criminal record and any available police reports or evidence and provide them to the defense.
And there is time pressure. She said the staff would arrive at 6:30 a.m. and the hearing would begin at 8:30 a.m.
“It all takes two hours. And we could have five cases that morning, or 25.”
Villarreal compared the tasks they now have to do to a baking analogy. She said it’s like someone baking apple pie all day and then being told they have to bake a cake before each one.
“But they didn’t really tell you what the ingredients were. And they didn’t tell you what flavor it was, what glaze it was, what shape it was. And sometimes our judges all have different tastes.”
It’s too early to say exactly what effect this has had on the county’s crime rate. While case numbers haven’t increased significantly, prosecutors want to see more data before drawing conclusions.
Critics of the law said it only allowed the imprisonment of the most serious criminals.
And prosecutors are finding that it’s the smaller crimes that are on the rise.
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