Council ponders: Expand Community Court ... or cut its budget?

A proposal to expand the Philadelphia Community Court to deal with more cases of disorderly conduct, shoplifting, prostitution and other nonviolent crimes collided yesterday with the city's budget realities.

As City Council held a hearing on expanding the program, its coordinator testified that even current operations are in jeopardy because of a possible cut in support from the court system.

"We believe that the Philadelphia Community Court actually saves the city money, reducing prison costs . . . and reducing the number of more harmful and more serious crimes," said William Babcock, a lawyer who is program coordinator, in testimony prepared for Council's Public Safety Committee.

But Municipal Court administrators have told Babcock that they may have to reassign two employees working in the program. And that was before all city agencies, including the courts, were asked to develop additional budget cuts.

"We are fully supportive of replicating or expanding the Community Court," Babcock said. "But none of these conversations make much sense if the city is not prepared to continue funding for the existing operation."

The court is on the second floor of 1401 Arch St. in Center City. But it handles cases from 10 of the city's 25 police districts, a combination of summary offenses and nonviolent misdemeanors inculding public drunkenness, prostitution and thefts from automobiles.

Instead of spending time in city jails waiting for arraignment, those arrested on minor offenses are taken directly to the court, or given citations to appear the next day.

Social workers from the city's Department of Behavioral Health are on-site to screen for health problems, conduct drug and alcohol assessments, place defendants in treatment programs when appropriate and sometimes provide assistance with housing, employment or literacy training.

Instead of sending the defendants to jail, they're usually sentenced to several days of community service, plus fines and costs.

Since the program began in 2002, it has heard more than 55,000 cases, including 10,000 misdemeanors for which many offenders would have spent time in city prisons, at least while awaiting arraignment, said Everett Gillison, the Nutter administration's deputy mayor for public safety.

If each diverted misdemeanor case saved just 10 days in city prison, Gillison calculated, the program has cut city jail costs by $9.5 million. He said that the court also has collected more than $1.4 million in fines and costs, and provided community service time valued at more than $2 million.

All five of the city's Democratic candidates for district attorney attended the Council hearing, strongly endorsing the program.

Gillison said that the administration is still working on future budget scenarios with the courts and related agencies. "We have to not be penny-wise and pound-foolish," he said. *