Preliminary bail is no longer allowed
By Terry Murry on Wednesday, July 20th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News Featured Stories
UMATILLA COUNTY – Newly arrested inmates at the Umatilla County Jail no longer are given a bail amount before they are arraigned. The Oregon Legislature changed the system to only allow the courts to determine bail for individuals. The judges are supposed to take into consideration a person’s lack of ability to pay bail and weigh that against the crimes allegedly committed.
Sheriff Terry Rowan says Presiding Sixth Circuit Court Judge Dan Hill is working hard to have the new system operating smoothly. They are now hiring release assistance officers who will work out of Rowan’s office and expect to have a full staff operating sometime in September.
“Basically, these release assistance officers will go through a process of gathering information on all of those that are lodged in our facility and determine if they have local support, employment, and whether they have the means to ensure that they’ll return to court,” Rowan said.
When police bring a prisoner to the jail, the new law means there are now four options. Rowan said those are automatic release on recognizance, release with conditions on recognizance, hold for arraignment, or hold for a previous arraignment.
The jail roster will add the bail once it is set by a judge. Rowan said it’s not the best time to change a system, but they’re dedicated to making it work.
“We’ve got a lot of construction going on,” Rowan said of the jail remodel. “We’re trying to hold our numbers down to safely get through that project, but coupled with Senate Bill 49 it can be problematic at times.”
Rowan said his office still has the ability to control the population with the matrix system that’s already in place.
