It's rare that a California lawmaker seeking a policy model to follow would turn to Kentucky. But with the Legislature on summer recess, that's precisely what Sen. Bob Hertzberg is doing.

The mission: travel to the Bluegrass state to investigate how Kentucky gets its defendants awaiting trial to show up for court dates and keep them from committing crimes - all without locking them up. Civil rights advocates point to Kentucky as a shining example of reform, and Hertzberg, a Democrat who represents the Los Angeles suburb of Van Nuys, is convinced California ought to take notice.

The concern about excessive bail, along with jail overcrowding, have led a growing number of states and local jurisdictions to embrace the risk assessment idea. Those who have created their own pretrial services include not only Kentucky but also Arizona, Colorado, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Across the state's jails, there are twice as many "unsentenced" inmates than those who are serving a sentence after conviction, according to Jail Profile Survey data made available by the Board of State and Community Corrections website. A query showed 48,349 un-sentenced inmates compared to 25,111 who had been convicted as of December 2016, the most recent figures available.

To read more of Samantha Young's article, please click here.