High Utilizers of the Albemarle and Charlottesville Criminal Justice System

Like many communities, Charlottesville, VA includes relatively few individuals who consume a disproportionate amount of public and private restorative services. These services include criminal justice resources (such as police, courts, jail) and community services (including mental health counseling, EMT trips, hospital emergency room visits, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation). The objective of this study was to learn as much as possible about these “high utilizers” to inform decision-makers about potential interventions that might lessen recidivism among them, improve their lives, and reduce costs to the community. High utilizers were defined as individuals with four or more arrests within a single year, and were identified using booking and related data provided by the ACRJ (Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail) spanning a 34-month study period [1]. Analysis of this data and stakeholders meetings resulted in:•A characteristic understanding of the differences between high utilizers and non-high utilizers.•A flow chart built to illustrate the complex, multi-agency system that arrestees go through each time they are booked.•A chart showing that larceny is the most common statute for initial arrests, but contempt of court and probation become more prevalent for subsequent arrests.Future steps can include better quantifying of the financial and time aspects of the booking process, understanding the mental health implications of the Brief Jail Mental Health Screener data, looking into the rehabilitation services most used by high utilizers, and investigating the unquantifiable human elements behind the issue.