The number of inmates at the Johnson County jail hit its highest point last week when 420 men and women were housed inside an increasingly cramped facility officials have long sought to expand.
Even if it doesn’t happen in the next couple of years, the county is going to expand the jail eventually, Sheriff Doug Cox said.
The facility is supposed to house 322 inmates, but the monthly average number of inmates has exceeded that total since May, and the forecast for 2017 isn’t looking any better after it topped 400 in recent weeks. For example, the average population at the jail was 292 in January 2016, and was 383 last month.
Winter months are typically a slow period for arrests, which often pick up once the weather warms in May, Cox said.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryIf the numbers remain high or increase in the summer, more money will be needed to run the jail. The sheriff’s office has a nearly $4.2 million budget to run the jail in 2017, but because of the added inmates, all of whom must be fed, dressed and have their medical needs taken care of, Cox said he may have to request additional tax dollars if the population remains high.
Officials also are concerned about the safety of both inmates and workers, and the inability to properly separate inmates based on the crimes for which they have been arrested or convicted. Another concern lingering is the threat of a potential federal lawsuit due to overcrowding.
“We are in an emergency situation now,” Johnson County Prosecutor Brad Cooper said.
Multiple issues have led to the higher numbers of inmates at the jail, local officials said. State laws that mandate the county house inmates with low-level felonies and a growing Johnson County population have led to overcrowding. And previous efforts to either expand the jail or renovate the current space to add more beds have fallen through.
A referendum for a $23 million jail expansion adding more than 400 beds was defeated in 2010 after two-thirds of county residents voted against the project that would have raised their property taxes. A $1.6 to $1.8 million project to convert recreational space and two indoor gyms into additional housing for inmates would have added 80 beds, but those plans never came to fruition, partly due to concerns it would take away needed recreation space. The county has done smaller expansions, including adding 18 new beds in 2013 to the men’s areas.
The jail, built in 1977, was most recently expanded in 2002 as the result of an overcrowding lawsuit filed against the county. The jail was expanded and renovated to nearly triple the available space from 100 beds to nearly 300. Whether a similar lawsuit could happen again remains a concern.
“It is a concern for any sheriff, and there are many sheriffs in the same boat,” Cox said.
Officials have been making do by having inmates sleep on plastic mattresses on the floor. With more inmates in cell blocks than planned, more corrections employees are needed to maintain the peace, said Jail Commander Maj. Duane Burgess.
The county council approved funding to hire five more corrections employees in 2017, bringing the total to 56. Burgess said he could use another dozen.
With the number of inmates now in the jail, the disciplinary block, where unruly inmates are sent, is also crowded. That often means if correctional officers need to bring in a person who is being disruptive, they have to take someone out earlier than planned, Cox said.
Adding employees would help in managing the growing number of inmates, but in order to properly manage the jail, the county has to have the right number of inmates for the size of the jail and cell blocks available, Cox said.
Just getting the population under 322 wouldn’t be enough, he said.
Ideally, the number of inmates will be under 270, Cox said. Inmates can then be separated into minimum, medium or maximum security. That way, someone arrested for trespassing or criminal mischief isn’t going to be housed next to someone arrested on a violent criminal charge, for example, Cox said.
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Here is the average number of inmates detained at the Johnson County jail each month
2016:
January: 292
February: 281
March: 306
April: 312
May: 331
June: 329
July: 343
August: 340
September: 323
October: 336
November: 375
December: 337
2017
January: 383
SOURCE: Johnson County Sheriff’s Office
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