Programs that are reducing the number of people sentenced to jail in Winnebago County are working, but the facility is still full almost every day.
District Attorney Christian Gossett is pushing for a “Problem Solving Approach to Criminal Justice” that will try to keep more defendants on the street, while awaiting trial.
His plan calls for a “one-stop shop” of counseling and addiction services. He says people would go through that process, after they’re arrested, but before they’re charged.
Gossett says arrest figures from around the country are shocking. He says 30 percent of Americans get arrested by the time they turn 23. It’s 50 percent for black men, and 40 percent for white men.
