VIDALIA — Concordia Parish police juror Gene Allen said he won’t pursue a meeting with parish judges to discuss reducing prisoners’ bonds.

I think (the judges) know how serious this situation is. … so it’s up to the judges now,&uot; Allen said of the police jury’s interest in lowering its cost of prisoner care.

Allen heads a committee appointed by the police jury to explore ways to lower that cost. His suggestion was for the judges to lower suspects’ bonds, reducing the number of parish prisoners.

Judges Leo Boothe and Kathy Johnson of Seventh Judicial District Court both have said they have serious concerns about reducing bonds in most cases.

Johnson also pointed out state law requires judges to consider certain criteria when setting bond, including the person’s criminal history and the seriousness of the offense with which they are charged.

She said she would be happy to set bonds at lower levels when possible and with certain conditions – but only if the jury and the sheriff’s office had enough money to hire an officer to check on whether those bond conditions, such as curfews, were being met.

Neither the jury nor the sheriff’s office has the money to do that, she noted.

&uot;There’s only so much the judges can do — that’s the feeling I&160;got from it,&uot;&160;added Police Jury President Charlie Blaney. &uot;I&160;think we’re all doing as much as we&160;can.&uot;

Allen wouldn’t comment Friday on whether the jury would be able to help pay for the costs of such officers.

The issue arose in the jury’s June 26 meeting, when Allen expressed concerns about the jury’s paying thousands of dollars for housing, feeding and health care for pre-trial prisoners while also having to pay for other expenses, such as the cost of holding criminal court.

So Blaney named jurors Allen, Cathy Darden and Melvin Ferrington to discuss with the judges the possibility of reducing bonds for non-violent, first-time local offenders as a solution to growing prisoner costs.

The jury spent $99,297 on prisoner care last year, or $3.50 per day per pre-trial prisoner. The sheriff’s office pays the rest of the cost — $21.50 a day — for a total of $213,525 last year. The state pays for prisoners’ care once they are sentenced.