State sees historically low number of arrests during shutdown

More than two months after COVID-19 began sweeping across Connecticut, newly released data provides the most comprehensive look yet at how the virus has affected the state’s criminal justice systems.

The number of pending criminal cases grew by almost 25 percent between March 16 and May 27, according to the Judicial Branch, in large part because of preventative measures taken to protect court staff, judges and the public from the virus. Court officials are currently only handling the highest-priority cases and emergency matters.

Pending motor vehicle crime cases, meanwhile, increased 17.6percent during the same period. Ongoing motor vehicle and criminal infraction cases — which would only result in fines, not jail time — were up by 11.7 percent . Undecided small claims cases, in which a person can sue for up to $5,000 in money damages, were up 54.4 percent.

Many of these cases were already pending before COVID-19 struck, a Judicial Branch official noted. New court filings and criminal arrests have been significantly lower during the pandemic.

Despite the increase in pending cases, the official added, the numbers are well below what the branch has managed over the last few years.

The number of people admitted to state correctional facilities fell by 65 percent between March and April. Just 355 people were sent to jail. No one was sentenced for a crime in April because sentencing hearings have been suspended since midMarch.

Preliminary numbers for May show a slight uptick in the number of people admitted to DOC facilities before they’ve been convicted of a crime. More people were admitted pretrial in the first three weeks of May than the entire month of April, though officials said admissions could still be historically low for the month of May.

The state will resume limited operations on adult cases in courthouses in Middletown, Vernon and Torrington beginning June 8. The May monthly indicators report notes that admissions to the corrections system will likely pick up as arrests increase in the warmer months and the Judicial Branch resumes its normal operations.

A decrease in court hearings also led to fewer people being released from jail following a court appearance. Every month a few hundred people incarcerated pretrial are released from jail after going to court because they either plead guilty and are sentenced to time served or the charges are dropped. In April, 38 people were sent home from court, a 92% decline from April 2019.

The above figures are the number of people on discretionary releases, by type, as of the first of the month.

Furlough and transfer parole releases up, use of halfway houses down

DOC Commissioner Rollin Cook can release inmates from prison on funeral, medical and reentry furloughs. The temporary leaves are up to the commissioner’s discretion, and aren’t often granted. But there were significantly more people on furloughs on May 1 compared to the prior month.

According to the latest indicators report, Cook released 119 incarcerated people on furloughs in April. In March, he issued 15 furloughs. In February, zero.

As of May 1 there were 119 people on transfer parole — when an inmate has been approved for parole and is within 18 months of their parole release date — a significant increase from the 74 people on that form of parole on April 1. Board of Pardons and Parole

Chairperson Carleton Giles said the increase was an intentional effort to release people approved for parole more quickly, to give the DOC more space for social distancing.

There were 732 people in halfway houses as of May 1, more than 200 fewer than there were the previous month. According to the monthly indicator report, 39 inmates were released from prison to halfway houses throughout April, a 78% decrease from the month prior. Cook said the department intentionally reduced the number of inmates it sent to halfway houses to give officials time to quarantine sick residents and develop plans for the coming months of COVID-19.

“This is one of those unseen efforts and challenges that that we face in managing our population during the pandemic,” Cook said.

“As long as the courts operate at minimal levels, we expect to eventually see a decrease in overall discretionary releases based on the shrinking pool of sentenced candidates,” Cook continued. “We continue to focus… on releases and the moving of eligible and suitable offenders into the community and into the halfway houses or into their own residence.”