Alternative Sentencing

Ada County recognizes that not every offense requires time behind bars. The Alternative Sentencing Unit operates several initiatives designed to serve this purpose, including:

• Sheriff’s Labor Detail (SLD): A work crew that contributes to community projects. Instead of serving time behind bars, participants gain the opportunity to give back to the community while receiving credit for their efforts.

• Sheriff’s Community Service (SCS): Allows participants the opportunity to serve the community with approved providers, turning jail time into constructive community service hours.

• House Arrest: Leveraging technology, participants serve their sentence within their own residence, monitored electronically for compliance. This method helps reduce the jail population and allows participants the opportunity to maintain some personal freedoms.

• Community Transition Center: Participants serve their time at the Community Transition Center to prepare for their reentry back into the community. They may leave the CTC for employment purposes, to attend employment search activities, and to attend medical or mental health treatment, among other activities. Every participant will be offered intensive case management services.

• Scheduled Sentence Program: This program allows participants the opportunity to serve their time intermittently at the Community Transition Center to avoid interrupting employment or other community services.

Pretrial Release

The mission of the Pretrial Services Unit (PSU) is to assist the 4th District Court in figuring out if someone charged with a crime can be safely released into the community before criminal cases are resolved.

The Pretrial Services Unit supervises specific criminal defendants with two primary goals: to protect community safety and ensure that people charged with crimes attend all court hearings. Every new arrest is assessed by our team and sent to a judge, who makes a decision on whether the person is safe to monitor outside the walls of the jail or within.

When a judge does order someone to be in the Pretrial Services Unit, our staff's supervision allows that person who was charged with a crime an opportunity to remain employed, in school, continue health services (drug/alcohol/mental health treatment), and remain in their home while being monitored in the community.

This also helps ensure that local jail beds are available to hold the most dangerous offenders.

We assist the 4th District Court by providing an evidence-based risk assessment after somebody is arrested but before they get arraigned in their criminal case creating a very quick turnaround from arrest to being placed on pre-trial release. This assessment which is a model now used around the country objectively predicts risk to the community if someone is released from jail while their criminal case is being resolved.

To learn more about pre-trial services, our criteria and how this program keeps Ada County safe, click here.

Misdemeanor Probation Services

The role of Ada County Misdemeanor Probation (ACMP) is to supervise misdemeanor offenders in cases where probation supervision has been ordered by a sentencing judge. 

In conjunction with the Ada County Commissioners, the Sheriff's Office provides misdemeanor probation services to approximately 1,300 people. Misdemeanor probation officers use a wide variety of tools to ensure low-level offenders are serving their sentences and complying with probation as ordered by the judge without the need to serve time in jail. 

Misdemeanor probation services include and primarily consist of oversight and enforcement of court-ordered conditions. ACMP staff are employees of the Ada County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) and use screening and assessment tools to evaluate a probationer’s risk for violence, and re-offense, determine a recommended supervision level, and ascertain substance use and mental health status.

ACMP also has field contact teams made up of commissioned deputies and probation officers who actively work in the field to check on probationers on a regular basis to ensure they are in compliance with the terms as ordered by the judge. 

Mental Health and Substance Abuse

Beyond just punitive measures, Ada County actively works on programs that focus on mental health and substance abuse, often root causes of criminal behavior. The jail provides 24/7 medical care and includes an accredited Health Services Unit and a Mental Health Unit staffed with social workers. The Countywide Crisis Intervention (CIT) team collaborates with external entities to address these issues, including groups such as the Idaho State Hospital, the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare, the Boise and West Ada School District, and Pathways of Idaho, a 24/7 intake facility aimed at connecting people with substance abuse and mental health issues to appropriate community resources. By connecting with these groups, we are better able to identify frequent utilizers and have treatment plans in place if and when they reconnect with the system.

By offering medical assistance and resources to individuals, we aim to reduce overall recidivism rates and create a healthier community.

A Shared Challenge

We continually explore opportunities to partner with neighboring counties to house inmates, but current conditions restrict our ability to do so. Our neighboring counties, such as Canyon, Boise, Valley, and Gem County, either face similar space challenges or have facilities unable to assist with high-risk inmates.