JOCO jail problem only getting worse

By The Gazette Editorial Board

--------

The question of building a new Johnson County Jail has never been one of “if,” but “when.”

The 92-bed facility has been too small for a decade, ever more so as average daily inmate populations have increased - up to 167 inmates in 2010, even higher so far this year. On any given day, the county now has more inmates housed off site than it does inside its own cells. It's an expensive, time-consuming solution to an problem that's just not going away.

A decade ago, county supervisors were told they needed to build a jail to house 250 prisoners, with room for expansion.

They have been planning and studying the issue since voters rejected a 2000 referendum that would have financed a larger jail.

Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek has tried to control costs by using jail alternative programs and by shopping around for area jails that charge the lowest price to board overflow inmates.

Still, the cost just to outsource boarding for the growing overflow population has risen every year - $900,595 in 2008, $947,216 in 2009, $1.3 million last year.

Since 2001, the county has spent more than $6.2 million to house inmates in other jails, not including transportation costs, which have increased.

Critics say the solution is simple: Just don't lock up so many people. There would be no overcrowding if police didn't arrest drunken college kids or other petty violators.

But with minimum mandatory sentences for crimes, including alcohol and drug convictions, much of that is out of the county's hands.

And according to sheriff's office data, misdemeanor drug and alcohol offenses are not the source of overcrowding - a 2008 study, for example, showed that offenders arrested for public intoxication spent just over eight hours in jail.

In fact, most Johnson County Jail inmates - and most inmates shipped to other counties - are violent offenders and others serving long criminal sentences.

A new jail would be more cost-effective over time, slashing boarding fees and travel costs from the perpetual inmate shuffle. It would be more efficient, requiring fewer staff to keep a closer eye on the cells. It would alleviate security concerns raised by the frequent trips from courthouse to various county jails.

It could take as long as three years, and cost at least $40 million to build a new criminal justice center that also allows for some expansion. Voters could have another chance next year to approve the funding.

We think the county has done its best for a decade with increasingly inadequate facilities. It's time build a bigger jail.

n Comments: thegazette.com/

category/opinion/editorial or

editorial@sourcemedia.net