Farías asks factors for detention, release, and ATI for violent felonies

Thank you so much.

Hi, DA.

Hello.

For young people charged with violent felonies, what factors does your office weigh in deciding whether to seek detention, set non-monetary conditions for release, release under supervision, or offer an ATI program?

All right.

You want to answer that myself?

What we're going to look at is pretty much everything, and this is why we're here today and why we're talking about cooperation, collaboration, and everyone coming together so that we can

have all of the information that we need at the outset when we're dealing with a case to make the right decision.

We would like to, and what we do now with this new bureau, is we look at everything.

We look at every factor.

We look at what is going on with the child at home, what's going on with the child in school, what the circumstances are

involved in the particular arrest that we have before us, what this child has done previously if the child has a criminal past.

We look at everything.

decide whether we're going to retain a case or whether we're going to have that case go to family court or whether we're going to seek bail or whether we're not.

There are a number of factors that come into play.

With respect to retention, obviously the law

tells you that there are specific things that you have to look for to determine whether a case is going to be retained in the youth part.

There are prongs.

There are legal, if the person displays a weapon, that's one of the prongs.

That has to exist in order for you to, in furtherance of a crime, for you to retain that case in the youth part.

That's something that we look at.

If the person has done two or three other things that are prongs, we will look at those things and determine whether the person has committed the infraction.

And fits those prongs and keep that case in the youth part.

But if it doesn't fulfill those requirements that the law required, the prongs that the law required, then that case is going to be considered as a case that we would be sending to family court.

With respect to bail, if the person

you know, has a criminal past, if the person is a person who has shot someone, if the person,

you know, has injured someone in a very serious way, obviously we're not trying to have that person go back into the community just like that, okay?

We would like

to see what's going on with that person, why that person committed that crime, so we would have to request bail in instances like that.

But it would have to be a bail-eligible offense.

If it's not a bail-eligible offense, we can't ask for bail.

But if it is, we will ask for bail.

So there are a number of factors that we look at with respect to bail, not just one thing.

But we need information.

We cannot...

Proceed with a case if we don't have information, particularly as to the background of that child.

And a lot of times we don't have the information that we need with respect to what that child has committed.

For instance, if it's in family court case where they had an infraction, we don't have that information.

We don't have access to that information.

And as a result, you know, there are some decisions that we can't make.

With respect to what may have occurred previously.

And so we move forward and we try to request bail to keep them when the infraction is very serious, but there are times we just don't have the information and we really need that information and we can't do it without you.

But holistically, I would say this.

And I've trained my assistants to do this.

Like, this was a whole change that I had to bring about starting 10 years ago.

It's no longer necessarily just the charges, okay?

It's the person.

Who is this person?

How did they get here?

And what is justice going to look like?

And in order to determine that, you have to look at everything.

Their family makeup, whether or not they experienced trauma before, you know, what is happening in their community.

What has happened?

And in school, all we take, I leave nothing, no stone unturned.

If I could get the information that's going to be helpful for me to determine what should happen with that child, I welcome it.

Like, again, I want to stress, DAs are not using it to punish kids.

We're using it to make sure that we can do something about it.

The way the law is written now, certain things we can get the information only as far as bail and sentencing.

Well, that's crazy, right?

Because all the stuff in between is what really matters.

Even if they're in detention, if things are going better for them, it may be a point where we could say, well, if this particular program or this community

organization will help or this family needs have changed and therefore the circumstances of the child has changed, maybe we can have them, you know, leave detention and go into the community and still be monitored.

But if I don't get that information, I can only use it for bail, which means to punish them, right?

Or sentencing after they're convicted, then that defeats the purpose.

Thank you.

And just one more question.