Court Services

Kent County Courthouse
180 Ottawa NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
(616) 632-5350
Fax (616) 632-5339

Mission Statement

The mission of the Court Services Department is to plan, develop, and administer quality, cost-effective alternatives to incarceration for appropriate defendants/offenders which enhance the effectiveness of the local criminal justice system, and thereby serve the needs of the Courts and Kent County's residents.

Goals and Statistics

The management and staff of this department are committed to serving the needs of the Courts and the people of Kent County by focusing on five primary goals:

Assist the Courts in meeting the Michigan Court Rule 6.106 requirement concerning the release of pretrial defendants on bond.
Provide court-ordered pretrial supervision to monitor compliance of bond conditions and court appearances for defendants released into the community.
Provide data to the local criminal justice system for the purpose of assisting in the management of the jail population.
Provide sentencing alternative within the community with the purpose of saving jail and prison beds.
Provide services to divert cases from the local criminal justice system.

Pretrial Release Services

Screening and Investigation

Pretrial Population at Kent County Correctional Facility (County Jail)
Kent County Average Daily Population: 1,064

Kent County Correctional Facility 2005 Pre-Trial Population

Cases Screened in 2005

Fast Track Cases

Under this program, individuals who are arrested and taken to the jail are evaluated by Court Services staff for pretrial release with little or no lodging at the jail. Candidates for possible Fast Track release are carefully screened and are given a court appearance date before release.

571 defendants were found eligible for Fast Track services during 2005. Of those released, only 7% failed to appear for arraignment.

Supervised Release

Supervised Release Cases Closed 2005

Community Service Work Programs

Placements at Non-Profit Organizations
Total Placements for 2006: 3,109

Total Placements 2006

Individuals who have had a face-to-face interview with our staff, received their orientation, signed their agreement form, and have been assigned to work at a worksite in the community.

Hours of Work Performed for the Community in 2006
Total Hours in 2006: 197,097

Total Hours 2006

Community Service Cases Closed
Total Number of Cases Closed: 2715 Regular Court Services and 443 Work Crew.

Community Services Cases Closed

Data Collection, Analysis and Distribution

Jail Bed Reports

Each week detailed reports describing the breakdown of the jail population by sentenced and unsentenced beds are provided to each District and Circuit Court Judge, Department of Corrections, and Family Division Juvenile Court. These reports indicate the number of occupied jail beds by each judge and each court. The reports are also used as a planning tool at monthly Jail Bed Allocation Committee meetings. Thanks to the cooperation of the Judiciary, Sheriff's Department and the various departments within the Kent County criminal justice system, we continue to successfully manage the number of jail beds, and have averted jail over-crowding emergencies.

In 2005, 1,292 reports were generated and distributed to the Judiciary and key departments throughout the Kent County criminal justice system.