Video Court Appearances Save Money

By Kelly Cramer, Savannah Now

With recent gas prices pushing $3 a gallon, Chatham County's video conferencing arraignment program couldn't have come at a better time.

Sheriff Al St. Lawrence said the program saves several daily round trips in 15-seat passenger vans from the Chatham County jail off Chatham Parkway to the courthouse downtown on Montgomery Street.

Arraignments are short hearings for incarcerated defendants the courts must hold within 48 hours of an arrest.

St. Lawrence and Recorder's Court Clerk Brian Hart have pioneered the video-conferencing arraignment program. They say it will save the county money and improve safety at the courthouse.

"It affords us security," said Recorder's Court Chief Judge Lawrence Dillon.

To facilitate the program, cameras were installed at the jail. Two large screens sit back to back on a rolling cart for use in the courtrooms. There are cameras on top of the screens so that the inmates can see the judge, prosecutor, defense attorney and the courtroom gallery.

Today, the sheriff's department will recognize and thank those who have implemented the program.

"Utilizing this new technology will not only save on the rising cost of fuel and vehicle maintenance, but also free up some of these deputies to be assigned to other areas," St. Lawrence said.

St. Lawrence said he also hopes to use the video conferencing technology in other court proceedings like hearings on extradition, probable cause, probation revocation and pleas in criminal cases. Additionally, he'd like to use the system for hearings held by Probate Court addressing mental health, drugs and alcohol.

By the numbers

• 4,590 inmates transported from Jan. 1 to Oct. 7
• 353 round trips from Jan. 1 to Oct. 7
• 2 deputies per trip
• 670 inmates arraigned by video since Sept. 12

Source: Chatham County Sheriff's Office

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