Allegheny County court officials release information on remaining jail population

After 701 inmates were released from Allegheny County Jail to prevent the spread of covid-19, the Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania released an update on the remaining population.

As of Tuesday, 1,564 inmates were left in the jail, according to the court administrator’s office. That’s a 30% decrease from the population at the beginning of March, when the population was 2,224. This number excludes people with holds by the federal government.

The detainer population was 974 on March 1, and 658 on Tuesday, a 32% decrease.

“Releasing inmates from the jail, many of whom have multiple holds, is a process that involves multiple system checks and a careful review of public and victim safety,” said the administrator of the Fifth Judicial District, which covers Allegheny County.

Ten percent of the population are serving a county sentence as a result of a new conviction. Another 21% are being held on behalf of other jurisdictions, including other counties and the state. Inmates can be held for reasons like probation violations, parole detainers and other county holds or sentences, the court administrator’s office said.

Another 40% of inmates are being detained by Allegheny County Adult Probation. These inmates were detained for violating probation regarding a previous conviction. Of that group, 88% are considered “of moderate or high risk to reoffend.”

The rest are being held for other reasons, including violent felonies, awaiting mental health commitments or service plans and others.

Some 19% of the detainees are being held while awaiting trial. Of these, only 1% are considered low-risk for committing another crime, the court said. There are 94 people, about 6% of the jail’s population, being held for trial on monetary bonds. The court said all pretrial monetary bond cases are reviewed for possible bail modification.

Jails across counties and states are making rapid moves to decrease their inmate population amid the pandemic.

Westmoreland County Jail also reported a declining population Monday, modeling its strategy after Allegheny County.