PLATTSBURGH — Friday afternoon, Assemblyman D. Billy Jones (D-Plattsburgh) met with local law enforcement and emergency management officials to discuss the impact of the statewide criminal justice reforms that took effect Jan. 1.

The legislation, enacted through a budget law, most notably eliminated cash bail for all misdemeanors and non-violent felonies.

And it made changes to the discovery process, requiring prosecutors to turn over all evidence to defense counsel within 15 days of an arrest.

Jones said everyone in attendance agreed that judges and justices should be given back the discretion to decide on bail.

“We are trying to change these laws because it is a public safety issue.”

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Discovery changes

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Franklin County District Attorney Craig Carriero said prosecutors used to have months to provide discovery materials.

They now have to provide that information within 15 days for every felony, misdemeanor, violation and traffic infraction.

As a result, he believes many law enforcement officers, instead of continuing their investigations, are working on paperwork to comply with their discovery obligations.

Changes to that process have also impacted first responders.

Clinton County Emergency Services Director Eric Day said, even for a traffic stop, emergency dispatchers have to provide recordings of 911 calls and radio transmissions.

Additionally, if first responders — most of whom are volunteers — are dispatched, there needs to be documentation of which agencies were present and, possibly, their names, contact information and dates of birth.

That can also include criminal histories, Carriero added.

During a press conference in November, Carriero said that he had not asked the county legislature to budget for more staff in his office to accommodate the changes.

He said Friday that a Malone Village Police officer had stepped up to act as a discovery coordinator, but he anticipates more hires will be necessary.

“If this stays at this rate, there’s no way that we’ll be able to continue to comply without asking for additional staff.”

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Judgment calls

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Over the years, Clinton County Sheriff David Favro often questioned why bail was set for certain jail inmates.

“It goes back to the point that (City Court) Judge (Timothy) Blatchley brought up that the best person to actually make that determination is the person sitting at the bench.”

Bad things can happen when a person is first processing their arrest, so that is the time you want control over that individual, Favro said.

“With this, it’s kind of tying the hands and handcuffing — no pun intended — all of us to the point where we can’t make those judgment calls.”

That also means people may not get the access to mental health and substance abuse services provided by the jails.

Prior to bail reform, a judge had the power to send someone to jail at least for a little while so they could receive those services, Franklin County Sheriff Kevin Mulverhill said.

“The judge knows (if) that individual gets incarcerated, he’s going to get a mental health review, he’s going to get substance abuse review. What this bail reform has done is taken that completely out of the judge’s hands.”

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Wave to come

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Favro told the Press-Republican that the jail’s population can fluctuate by 20 to 30 inmates daily, and that it housed 94 as of Friday, 70 of which were local inmates.

About a year ago, around 260 people were in custody.

In preparation for the reforms, Favro’s department has not back-filled some positions as people have retired or resigned.

And they are trying to capitalize off the lull in numbers by rehabilitating housing units not currently in use, conducting in-depth training and allowing officers more time off to utilize their vacation and holiday time.

Favro anticipates that a wave of people returning to serve their sentences is yet to come.

“We know our numbers are going to go back up, so now’s the time to prepare for that.”

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Green light law

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The group also touched on a provision of the Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act, better known as the Green Light law, which prevents federal officers from accessing New York State Department of Motor Vehicles records without a judge’s order.

Champlain Border Patrol Station Patrol Agent in Charge Norm Lague said it has significantly impacted his agency’s operation.

The lack of access prevents agents from running plates and determining whether a vehicle is from the local area or another part of New York, the latter of which would raise suspicion, he said.

“It has also impacted our ability to target criminal organizations that have basically structured themselves to work along the border and that’s their main job is to smuggle things into the United States.”

Favro pointed out that Border Patrol agents are often the first to arrive at a scene, and not being able to share DMV information with them is disrespectful to the safety of both federal agents and the public as a whole.

“It is a huge officer safety issue,” Lague said.

“You want all the information you can obtain prior to engaging a vehicle on a vehicle stop and when that critical component is missing, it makes that situation even more dangerous.”

Jones, who voted against the Green Light law, will soon introduce a bill that would ensure federal agents have access to those records.

“Not allowing our federal partners to have access to DMV records, to the DMV database, it’s a national security issue, I feel, and it’s a public safety issue.”