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Motion of the Council of Allegheny County expressing the sense of Council regarding the County Jail staff and inmate population, and the Council's desire to continue efforts to minimize any potential deleterious impact of the County Jail on the health, safety and well-being of the community at large during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Whereas, the Allegheny County Chief Executive has declared that the COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a public emergency in Allegheny County;
Whereas, Section 5-311.06 of the Administrative Code of Allegheny County provides that “[i]n the event of a public emergency declared by the Chief Executive affecting life, health, safety or property, County Council may adopt by an affirmative vote of at least a majority of the seated members one or more emergency ordinances or resolutions.”; and
Whereas, more than 2,100 people are generally held in the Allegheny County Jail (ACJ) in crowded conditions that involve sharing cells, eating quarters, recreation areas, sinks, toilets, and all other amenities and facilities; and
Whereas, hundreds of staff, defense attorneys, contractors, and other individuals enter and leave the facility each day, returning to their families and communities throughout Allegheny County, potentially carrying infections from the jail to their homes and communities and vice versa; and
Whereas, more than 80% of those at ACJ are not convicted of any criminal offense; instead, 44% are held on alleged violations of probation, many of them technical violations or based on non-violent charges; 28% of them are held pretrial, with their presumption of innocence intact; countless numbers are held simply because they cannot afford cash bail; and
Whereas, the jail population includes a substantial number of individuals at heightened risk for suffering the most severe impacts of COVID-19, including elderly people, people with asthma and other respiratory conditions, heart conditions, and compromised immune symptoms; and
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