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Jail overcrowding has officials considering ankle bracelets |
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Written by Andrew Powell
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Friday, 04 December 2009 |
Several county officials are discussing the prospect of home incarceration to help alleviate overcrowding at the county jail.
Several county officials are discussing the prospect of home incarceration to help alleviate overcrowding at the county jail.
The jail is currently holding 100 inmates, nearly double the capacity approved by the state for the facility. Sending some of the offenders home, monitored by ankle bracelets, could solve a bevy of problems.
“Right now, we are more overcrowded than we ever have been, especially when considering the duration,” said Jailer Tony Ball. Ball said many inmates are “on the floor,” sleeping on mats and blankets.
“We have tried to send some to other jails, but everyone in our area is in the same situation we are. Even the state sees the problem local jails are having,” Ball said.
The problem has persisted for some time, says County Attorney Michele Wilson, who proposed earlier this year the county utilize ankle bracelets for some offenders.
“The program is approved by the state and has worked well in other counties and would work well here,” Wilson said. “We could ease many burdens and I think save the county a ton of money.”
Wilson says it costs the county nearly $80 a day for each inmate held at the facility. The home incarceration program would only cost $10 a day.
“The classic example occurred here where a local woman was charged with shoplifting and sentenced to 30 days in jail. She stole a $5 item and the county spent $1,000 keeping her behind bars. That just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.” Wilson said.
Each defendant would be judged for the program on a case by case basis, Wilson added, but many times local judge’s will double a sentence for those on home incarceration. For example, the shoplifter would have been given the choice of 30 days in jail or 60 days of home incarceration.
“They are afforded more luxury when they can sit on the couch and not in a jail cell, so extending the sentence does make sense,” Wilson added.
Wilson said final determination of the program and a defendant’s eligibility is always left to the District or Circuit Judges. Of course, not all defendants would be considered.
“Some judges would be very partial to jail time in certain cases, but in others it makes sense to send them home, especially if it is a minor offense and the person is employed somewhere,” Wilson said.
She added, “If the program is implemented, I think it will save time and money through the whole process and even help us get guilty pleas. If a defendant doesn’t have to hire a lawyer and can sit at home instead of jail they may be more willing to go ahead and plea, which will help the whole system.”
Ball said he would like to see the program implemented and would like to talk with Wilson and local judges further about the program and establishing some criteria. Ball said it would help with jail expenses some, but he hopes to keep the majority of his inmates behind bars.
“For example, we have 41 people in jail on drug-related charges right now,” Ball said. “If they got put in jail for selling drugs and you let them go home, guess what, they are going to be selling drugs.”
But, a number of inmates may qualify, he said, especially those in jail for minor offenses: nonpayment of fines, failure to appear, for example, charges that more than 20 people in the jail face.
“You still have to look at each person and each case, but for the most part you can send them home or put them in a work release program and we would save some troubles and money,” Ball said.
Ball, who operates the facility on a 16 person staff and $900,000 budget, said the only true way to alleviate overcrowding and budgetary problems at the jail is to build a new jail.
“Times are changing. More people come through this door everyday. Even the ones the state lets out early comes right back to us. We need to change with the times,” Ball said. By building a new jail, with greater capacity, the county could not only hold more local inmates, but state inmates as well, which each bring around $30 a day to the facility, he says.
McCreary County Judge-Executive Blaine Phillips and the Fiscal Court must first give approval for the program, which would then allow Wilson to take her recommendation for the program to the local court system. Judge Phillips said this week he was open to the home incarceration program and would discuss it further with the court and Wilson.
“I am leery about overriding the way the criminal justice system operates, but I can say there are instances where it could work for defendants and save the county money,” Phillips said. “I am not against spending $10 a day for an ankle bracelet when I look at what we spend now.”
Wilson said many defendants are currently given the option of home incarceration, at their own expense. Most don’t take it, because they could not afford it. But, that situation would change greatly with the county footing the bill.
“$10 a day for a 30 year sentence would really add up for many defendants, but is not much cost to the county, especially considering what they pay now,” Wilson said.
Phillips said he understands that overcrowding at the facility is an issue and leads to other budgetary problems down the road.
“It overburdens our jail and it overburdens our taxpayers,” Phillips said.
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