Expecting, behind bars

Courts should minimize jail for pregnant offenders

After an unannounced inspection of the Allegheny County Jail, two members of the lockup’s Oversight Board raised concerns about the number of pregnant women housed there. Their concern is worth noting, especially in light of a recent University of Pittsburgh report recommending that police and the courts put fewer people in jail and make increased use of alternative housing programs. Pregnant inmates would appear to be prime candidates for alternative placements.

In October, the jail had 34 pregnant inmates, fewer than the 38 in July but far more than the 13 in February and March. Following their unannounced visit on a recent Friday, Jail Oversight Board members Terri Klein, a former county councilwoman, and Chelsa Wagner, the county controller, reported their “continued concern that too many women are being housed in the jail as opposed to alternative facilities.”

The report by Pitt’s Institute of Politics, released earlier this month, found that many as 81 percent of all inmates were not serving sentences but awaiting adjudication of their cases. It also found that only 19 percent had been charged with violent crimes, with the rest there for less-serious offenses. The report noted that increased use of alternative housing, likely to cost less than jail beds, could result in significant savings to taxpayers. Pitt’s report highlighted the need for the courts to step up use of alternative housing for defendants in pretrial detention as well as those charged with garden-variety crimes. Based on the inmate census figures from recent months and the observations of Ms. Klein and Ms. Wagner, the courts should make it a priority to find alternative placements for pregnant offenders, too, working with the county’s executive and legislative branches, if need be, to make additional resources available.

Warden Orlando Harper pointed out that pregnant inmates receive a special meal designed to meet their enhanced nutritional needs and have access to a doctor. However, prenatal care involves more than that, and jail officials probably would prefer not to have any of this higherrisk population in the facility.

The county has had considerable success with problem-solving courts designed to balance treatment and punishment for certain types of defendants, including veterans of the armed forces and offenders with mental illnesses. The courts should take a similar approach to pregnant offenders, keeping them out of the jail when possible and linking them to services that can help them lead healthy, law-abiding lives. This stands to benefit the women, their babies and the taxpayers.