KLA Cadets Get Overview Of Judicial System
January 31, 2019 at 3:58 p.m.
By Staff Report-
Kosciusko County Circuit Judge Michael Reed gave a brief history of Kosciusko County’s judicial system, which dates back to its start in Leesburg in 1836. The makeup of the court system has changed over time to now be composed of one circuit court and three superior courts, with an additional court coming in July, according to a KLA news release.
The two issues Reed cited the court system is facing are pre-incarceration (he estimated 70 percent of people in jail have not been convicted yet) and one of the highest incarceration rates in the world.
Reed explained that problem solving is an important aspect of the court system. Because “history has shown incarcerating a drug offender is ineffective,” a drug court was established in 2014 designed to reduce recidivism. This program works with nonviolent offenders for 18 to 24 months through supervision and rehabilitation services.
Warsaw Police Chief Scott Whitaker gave an overview of the strengths of his department and some obstacles on the horizon.
Citing nationally known incidents involving police officers, Whitaker said he wants “to have a police force that represents the community.” The department has two Latino employees (the third recently retired) and recently hired its first female officer. Although the WPD is smaller, Whitaker was proud at how many officers are also involved in specialized units.
2018 was the 30th year of the department’s DARE program. Whitaker said it has certainly helped build relationships in the community, and will also be expanding beyond just a “typical DARE program” into drug education as well. Drug use is still a major concern, with “almost every case that involves violence involves drugs (and not marijuana).”
A secondary concern Whitaker cited was the growing presence of guns in drug cases.
Kosciusko County Sheriff Kyle Dukes talked about some challenges facing his office, including a jail that is over-capacity and has less staff than he desires. The department has 70 people out on work release, and Dukes is passionate about having more “stepping stones back to society.”
Dukes, who campaigned on having a unified law enforcement force, was encouraged about the sheriff’s office working with Winona Lake and Warsaw police officers.
For more information about KLA, visit kosciuskoleadership.org.
Kosciusko County Circuit Judge Michael Reed gave a brief history of Kosciusko County’s judicial system, which dates back to its start in Leesburg in 1836. The makeup of the court system has changed over time to now be composed of one circuit court and three superior courts, with an additional court coming in July, according to a KLA news release.
The two issues Reed cited the court system is facing are pre-incarceration (he estimated 70 percent of people in jail have not been convicted yet) and one of the highest incarceration rates in the world.
Reed explained that problem solving is an important aspect of the court system. Because “history has shown incarcerating a drug offender is ineffective,” a drug court was established in 2014 designed to reduce recidivism. This program works with nonviolent offenders for 18 to 24 months through supervision and rehabilitation services.
Warsaw Police Chief Scott Whitaker gave an overview of the strengths of his department and some obstacles on the horizon.
Citing nationally known incidents involving police officers, Whitaker said he wants “to have a police force that represents the community.” The department has two Latino employees (the third recently retired) and recently hired its first female officer. Although the WPD is smaller, Whitaker was proud at how many officers are also involved in specialized units.
2018 was the 30th year of the department’s DARE program. Whitaker said it has certainly helped build relationships in the community, and will also be expanding beyond just a “typical DARE program” into drug education as well. Drug use is still a major concern, with “almost every case that involves violence involves drugs (and not marijuana).”
A secondary concern Whitaker cited was the growing presence of guns in drug cases.
Kosciusko County Sheriff Kyle Dukes talked about some challenges facing his office, including a jail that is over-capacity and has less staff than he desires. The department has 70 people out on work release, and Dukes is passionate about having more “stepping stones back to society.”
Dukes, who campaigned on having a unified law enforcement force, was encouraged about the sheriff’s office working with Winona Lake and Warsaw police officers.
For more information about KLA, visit kosciuskoleadership.org.
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