Local law enforcement, attorneys take wait and see approach to Safe-T act
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By BETH ZUMWALT
The Safe-T Act went into affect Monday across Illinois. Pike County Sheriff David Greenwood said there were no arrests in Pike County Monday.
If there had been, the person detained would have had his or her crimes checked against a list. If the offense was not on the list, the person would be given a citation and released. But if the seriousness of the crime lead to harm the public, bail could be set and the defendant confined.
“I think there will be growing pains,” Rick Zimmerman, Pike County’s public defender, said. “Getting out of old habits can be difficult. I don’t see massive changes.”
The law has been controversial since it was passed in 2021 and amended in 2022. The system is to divert lower-level, nonviolent offenders from spending days, weeks or even months jailed with pre-trial incarnation. It was scheduled to take affect Jan. 1, but Dec. 31, the Illinois Supreme Court, issued an order postponing the implementation. In July, the justices, in a 5-2 vote passed the act,
The act means that an individual’s wealth will no longer play a role in whether they are incarcerated while awaiting trial. Judges can still order someone to be detained as they await trial, but the new system will be based on an offender’s level of risk of reoffending or fleeing prosecution, rather than their ability to afford bail.
“Defendants were treated better if they had money,” Zimmerman said.
Pike County State’s Attorney Walker Filbert agrees with Zimmerman, the new system is unchartered territory.
“The first question that has to be asked is ‘can we hold them under the law?’” Filbert said. “Law enforcement will call the state’s attorney’s office. We are always on call 24/7, but I expect we will be getting more late night calls.”
Filbert said the criteria to detain is examined as it applies in the case in question. If bail is denied, the defendant has 48 hours to file an appeal to the appellate court. That’s business days. Whatever ruling the appellate judge makes goes to an immediate appeal that has to be held within 14 days.
“We will just have to wait and see how the law applies,” Filbert said. “A person may have several failure to appear charges,but that doesn’t necessarily classify him as a flight risk according the criteria.”
Those who are not detained have the same restrictions as a person on probation does- do not leave the state, maintain or find employment, obeying any stay-away orders, enter no premises where the main business is selling alcohol (bars or taverns)
Filbert said the idea that a state’s attorney can file a petition to have the suspect detained and then have 30 days to reach a plea deal or a trial is not based in reality.
“I’m all for fixing what needs to be fixed,” Filbert said. “But what works in Chicago and Cook County isn’t necessarily good for Pike County. We will have to take more time in crossing the Ts and dotting the I s and use a few more resources. It all looks good on paper, but we won’t know the unintended consequences for some time.”
Filbert pointed out that Pike County has a big methamphetamine problem.
“It is easier to get a meth addict into a treatment facility if they are incarnated,” Filbert said. “A defendant gets arrested for meth and is released. The following week, he is arrested again. Now he is a felon. It is a scary situation.”
All law enforcement officers, the circuit clerk’s office, judges, public defenders, state’s attorneys have taken training on the act.
