(b) The goals of developing community-based corrections programs include:
(1) Allowing individual counties or combinations of a county or counties and a Class I or II municipality greater flexibility and involvement in responding to the problem of crime in their communities;
(2) Providing more effective protection of society and promoting efficiency and economy in the delivery of correctional services;
(3) Providing increased opportunities for offenders to make restitution to victims of crime through financial reimbursement;
(4) Permitting counties or combinations of a county or counties and a Class I or II municipality to operate programs specifically designed to meet the rehabilitative needs of offenders;
(5) Providing appropriate sentencing alternatives with the goal of reducing the incidence of repeat offenders;
(6) Permitting counties or combinations of a county or counties and a Class I or II municipality to designate community-based programs to address local criminal justice needs;
(7) Diverting offenders from the state regional jail or correctional facilities by punishing them with community-based sanctions, thereby reserving state regional jail or correctional facilities for those offenders who are deemed to be most dangerous to the community; and
(8) Promoting accountability of offenders to their community.
(b) The subcommittee shall elect a chairperson and a vice chairperson. The subcommittee shall meet quarterly. Special meetings may be held upon the call of the chairperson, vice chairperson or a majority of the members of the subcommittee. A majority of the members of the subcommittee constitute a quorum.
(1) Establish standards for approval of community corrections programs submitted by community criminal justice boards or other entities authorized by the provisions of this article to do so;
(2) Establish minimum standards for community corrections programs to be funded, including requiring annual program evaluations;
(3) Make any necessary adjustments to the fees established in section four of this article;
(4) Establish reporting requirements for community corrections programs; and
(5) Carry out the purpose and intent of this article.
(b) Upon recommendation of the community corrections subcommittee, the governor's committee shall:
(1) Maintain records of community corrections programs including the corresponding community criminal justice board or other entity contact information and annual program evaluations, when available;
(2) Seek funding for approved community corrections programs from sources other than the fees collected pursuant to section four of this article; and
(3) Provide funding for approved community corrections programs, as available.
(c) The governor's committee shall submit, on or before the thirtieth day of September of each year, to the governor, the speaker of the House of Delegates, the president of the Senate and, upon request, to any individual member of the Legislature a report on its activities during the previous year and an accounting of funds paid into and disbursed from the special revenue account established pursuant to section four of this article.
(b) In addition to the fee required in section nine, article twelve of this chapter, a fee not to exceed $35 per month, unless modified by legislative rule as provided in section three of this article, is also to be collected from those persons on probation. This fee is to be based upon the person's ability to pay. The magistrate or circuit judge shall conduct a hearing prior to imposition of probation and make a determination on the record that the offender is able to pay the fee without undue hardship. The magistrate clerk, deputy magistrate clerk, magistrate assistant, circuit clerk or deputy circuit clerk shall collect all fees imposed pursuant to this subsection and deposit them in a separate account. Within ten calendar days following the beginning of the calendar month, the magistrate clerk or circuit clerk shall forward the amount deposited to the State Treasurer to be credited to the West Virginia Community Corrections Fund.
(c) In addition to the fee required in section five, article eleven-b of this chapter, a fee of $2.50 per day is to be collected from those persons on home incarceration. The circuit judge, magistrate or municipal court judge shall consider the person's ability to pay in determining the imposition of the fee. The circuit clerk, magistrate clerk, municipal court clerk or his or her designee shall collect all fees imposed pursuant to this subsection and deposit them in a separate account. Within ten calendar days following the beginning of the calendar month, the circuit clerk, magistrate clerk or municipal court clerk shall forward the amount deposited to the State Treasurer to be credited to the West Virginia Community Corrections Fund.
(d) In addition to the usual court costs in any criminal case taxed against any defendant convicted in a municipal, magistrate or circuit court, excluding municipal parking ordinances, a $10 fee shall be added. The circuit clerk, magistrate clerk, municipal court clerk or his or her designee shall collect all fees imposed pursuant to this subsection and deposit them in a separate account. Within ten calendar days following the beginning of the calendar month, the circuit clerk, magistrate court clerk and the municipal court clerk shall forward the amount deposited to the State Treasurer to be credited to the West Virginia Community Corrections Fund.
(e) The moneys of the West Virginia Community Corrections Fund are to be disbursed by the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction, upon recommendation by the community corrections subcommittee, for the funding of community corrections programs and to pay expenses of the Governor's committee in administering the provisions of this article, which expenses may not in any fiscal year exceed ten percent of the funds deposited to the special revenue account during that fiscal year.
(f) Any disbursements from the West Virginia Community Corrections Fund allocated for community corrections programs by the Governor's committee may be made contingent upon local appropriations or gifts in money or in kind for the support of the programs. Any county commission of any county or the governing body of a municipality may appropriate and expend money for establishing and maintaining community corrections programs.
(a) Any county or combination of counties or a county or counties and a Class I or II municipality may establish and operate community corrections programs, as provided for in this section, to be used both prior to trial as a condition of bond in circuit and magistrate court, as well as an alternative sentencing option for those offenders sentenced within the jurisdiction of the county or counties which establish and operate the program: Provided, That the chief judge must certify that the community corrections facility is available for use in connection with the imposition of pretrial bond conditions.
(b) Any county or combination of counties or a county or counties and a Class I or II municipality that seek to establish programs as authorized in this section shall submit plans and specifications for the programs to be established, including proposed budgets, for review and approval by the community corrections subcommittee established in section three of this article.
(c) Any county or combination of counties or a county or counties and a Class I or II municipality may establish and operate an approved community corrections program to provide alternative sanctioning options for an offender who is convicted of an offense for which he or she may be sentenced to a period of incarceration in a county or regional jail or a state correctional facility and for which probation or home incarceration may be imposed as an alternative to incarceration.
(d) Community corrections programs authorized by subsection (a) of this section may provide, but are not limited to providing, any of the following services:
(1) Probation supervision programs;
(2) Day fine programs;
(3) Community service restitution programs;
(4) Home incarceration programs;
(5) Substance abuse treatment programs;
(6) Sex offender containment programs;
(7) Licensed domestic violence offender treatment programs;
(8) Day reporting centers;
(9) Educational or counseling programs;
(10) Drug courts; or
(11) Community beautification and reclamation programs for state highways, municipal, county and state parks and recreation areas, and community gardens.
(e) A county or combination of counties or a county or counties and a Class I or II municipality which establish and operate community corrections programs as provided for in this section may contract with other counties to provide community corrections services.
(f) For purposes of this section, the phrase "may be sentenced to a period of incarceration" means that the statute defining the offense provides for a period of incarceration as a possible penalty.
(g) No provision of this article may be construed to allow a person participating in or under the supervision of a community corrections program to earn "good time" or any other reduction in sentence.
(b) The community criminal justice board is to consist of no more than fifteen voting members.
(c) All members of the community criminal justice board are to be residents of the county or counties represented.
(d) The community criminal justice board is to consist of the following members:
(1) The sheriff or chief of police or, if the board represents more than one county or municipality, at least one sheriff or chief of police from the counties represented;
(2) The prosecutor or, if the board represents more than one county, at least one prosecutor from the counties represented;
(3) If a public defender corporation exists in the county or counties represented, at least one attorney employed by any public defender corporation existing in the counties represented or, if no public defender office exists, one criminal defense attorney from the counties represented;
(4) One member to be appointed by the local board of education or, if the board represents more than one county, at least one member appointed by a board of education of the counties represented;
(5) One member with a background in mental health care and services to be appointed by the commission or commissions of the county or counties represented by the board;
(6) Two members who can represent organizations or programs advocating for the rights of victims of crimes with preference given to organizations or programs advocating for the rights of victims of the crimes of domestic violence or driving under the influence; and
(7) Three at-large members to be appointed by the commission or commissions of the county or counties represented by the board.
(e) At the discretion of the West Virginia supreme court of appeals, any or all of the following people may serve on a community criminal justice board as ex officio, nonvoting members:
(1) A circuit judge from the county or counties represented;
(2) A magistrate from the county or counties represented; or
(3) A probation officer from the county or counties represented.
(f) Community criminal justice boards may:
(1) Provide for the purchase, development and operation of community corrections services;
(2) Coordinate with local probation departments in establishing and modifying programs and services for offenders;
(3) Evaluate and monitor community corrections programs, services and facilities to determine their impact on offenders; and
(4) Develop and apply for approval of community corrections programs by the governor's committee on crime, delinquency and correction.
(g) If a community criminal justice board represents more than one county, the appointed membership of the board, excluding any ex officio members, shall include an equal number of members from each county, unless the county commission of each county agrees in writing otherwise.
(h) If a community criminal justice board represents more than one county, the board shall, in consultation with the county commission of each county represented, designate one county commission as the fiscal agent of the board.
(i) Any political subdivision of this state operating a community corrections program shall, regardless of whether or not the program has been approved by the governor's committee on crime, delinquency and correction, provide to the governor's committee required information regarding the program's operations as required by legislative rule.
(b) All fees ordered by the circuit court, magistrate court, municipal court or community criminal justice board pursuant to this section are to be paid to the community criminal justice board, who shall remit the fees monthly to the treasurer of the county designated as the fiscal agent for the board pursuant to section six of this article.
(b) A county commission representing the same county as a community criminal justice board may require the community criminal justice board to render an accounting, at intervals the county commission may designate, of the use of money, property, goods and services made available to the board by the county commission and to make available at quarterly intervals an itemized statement of receipts and disbursements, and its books, records and accounts during the preceding quarter, for audit and examination pursuant to article nine, chapter six of this code.
(b) Any pretrial diversion program for a defendant charged with a violation of the provisions of section twenty-eight, article two, chapter sixty-one of this code, subsection (b) or (c), section nine of said article where the alleged victim is a family or household member or the provisions of section two, article five, chapter seventeen-c of this code is to require the person charged to appear before the presiding judge or magistrate and either acknowledge his or her understanding of the terms of the agreement or tender a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to the charge or charges. Upon the defendant's motion, the court shall continue the matter for the period of time necessary for the person charged to complete the pretrial diversion program. If the person charged successfully completes the pretrial diversion program, the matter is to be resolved pursuant to the terms of the pretrial diversion agreement. If the person charged fails to successfully complete the pretrial diversion program, the matter, if no plea of guilty or nolo contendere has been tendered, is to be returned to the court's docket for resolution. If the person charged has tendered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere and fails to successfully complete the pretrial diversion program, the court shall accept the tendered plea of guilty or nolo contendere and proceed to sentencing.
(c) No provision of this article may be construed to limit the prosecutor's discretion to prosecute an individual who has not fulfilled the terms of a written pretrial diversion agreement by not completing the required supervision or participation in a community corrections program.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, any person whose case is disposed of by entering into a pretrial diversion agreement, pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-two, article eleven of this chapter, shall be liable for any applicable court costs. Payment of the court costs shall be made a condition of the pretrial diversion agreement.
Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2012 1st Special Session
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