(Photo by Thomas Hawk, Flickr CC)

Michaelangelo Conte | The Jersey Journal

Since New Jersey’s Criminal Justice Reform and Speedy Trial Act took effect on Jan. 1, a defendant’s ability to pay a monetary bail no longer determines whether he or she will be held in jail while their case goes through the legal system.

A defendant is instead held throughout their prosecution if they are deemed a risk to the community or a risk of not appearing for court hearings.

As a result, the statewide jail population dropped by 20.3 percent during the first six months of 2017. Here’s a look at how the criminal justice reforms have played out in Hudson County, according to statistics provided by the New Jersey Judiciary Court System.

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(Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal)

Michaelangelo Conte | The Jersey Journal

Hudson County had the third most people charged with criminal offenses

There were 2,296 people arrested and charged with criminal offenses in Hudson County during the first six months of 2017 – the third most of New Jersey’s 21 counties, behind Essex and Camden counties.

Only 215 of them (9.4 percent) were detained at Hudson County jail through the course of their prosecution. In recent months, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office has increased the number of motions to detain it has been filing.

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(Journal file photo)

Michaelangelo Conte | The Jersey Journal

How many people are in the Hudson County jail?

When the reforms were implemented on Jan. 1, there were 541 inmates in the Hudson County jail who were awaiting prosecution. On June 30, there were 463 inmates waiting for their cases to be adjudicated – a 14 percent drop. That's well below the state average of 20.3 percent.

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Michaelangelo Conte | The Jersey Journal

Not everyone's charges stick

Of those arrested in the first half of the year in Hudson County, 131 people – or 5.7 percent – had their charges either completely dismissed or remanded to municipal court, where they are prosecuted as disorderly persons offenses.

Hudson County had far and away the most dismissals and remands in the state since the bail reform took effect. Hudson County had nearly twice the number of dismissals and remands as the county with the second most, Passaic (71). The state average of remands and dismissals was 2.1 percent.

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(Photo by meesh, Flickr CC)

Michaelangelo Conte | The Jersey Journal

How many stay behind bars?

Hudson County had one of the state’s lowest detention rates during the first six months of the year. Only 9.4 percent of defendants were ordered to be detained throughout their prosecution, which was second lowest in the state behind Bergen County’s rate of 6.2 percent. The state average was just over 14 percent.

However, Hudson County had the fourth-most defendants (215) who were detained throughout their legal proceedings.

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Michaelangelo Conte | The Jersey Journal

Hudson County's ROR rate

Meanwhile, there were 242 defendants (10.5 percent) in Hudson County who were released on their own recognizance by a judge after making a first court appearance on their charges – slightly above the state average of 9.9 percent.

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(Journal file photo)

Michaelangelo Conte | The Jersey Journal

How many get pretrial monitoring?

For the defendants who are not detained or ROR’d, the court uses a Public Safety Assessment to determine the conditions of their release. Through the first six months of the year, 62 percent of all defendants were released under one of three sets of conditions.

In the first half of 2017, 478 defendants (20.8 percent) were ordered to call the state’s Pretrial Service unit once a month. Statewide, 21.5 percent of defendants were released on this condition.

A total of 387 defendants in Hudson County, or 16.9 percent, were ordered to report to PTS both once per month in person and once a month by phone. These defendants can also be subject to some monitored conditions such as a curfew. Statewide, 14.7 percent of defendants were released under these conditions.

Meanwhile, 570 defendants in Hudson County (24.8 percent) were released under the condition they would be monitored in person or by phone every week, and also be subject to additional restrictions. Statewide, 25.8 percent of defendants were released under these conditions.

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(Photo by a. currell, Flickr CC)

Michaelangelo Conte | The Jersey Journal

How many people wear monitoring devices?

The court may also order a defendant to wear an electronic monitor and/or be confined to their home while their case is adjudicated.

A total of 211 people (9.2 percent) were released from custody using the Public Safety Assessment, but ordered to either wear an electronic GPS monitor and/or face home confinement. That’s slightly lower than the state average of 10.8 percent.

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Michaelangelo Conte | The Jersey Journal

The Pretrial Services unit, which was created as part of the reforms, is tasked with reporting violations of pretrial monitoring to the court, ensuring defendants make their ordered periodic contacts, operate the electronic monitoring system and ensure defendants abide by other court ordered conditions of release.

The Pretrial Services unit can also recommend to the court that sanctions are appropriate when a defendant violates the conditions of release.