A JAIL TO FIT WILSON COUNTY

As Wilson County tries to address its problem with jail crowding, it needs
to look beyond the numbers.

The county has known that its jail capacity doesn't meet its current need.
On a recent night, there were 183 inmates housed in a jail designed to
house 106. According to Sheriff Terry Ashe, who has lobbied for additional
jail space for two years, that degree of overcrowding is typical.

An architect and jail consultant are now developing recommendations for the
jail's expansion, but those plans will eventually need to be approved and
funded by the county commission.

As those plans take shape, county officials in Wilson County and other
counties facing this common issue should remember that the jail crowding
problem is likely to be greater than the raw numbers indicate. When judges
know that a jail's population exceeds its capacity, they tend to let
offenders who should do some jail time off with an easier sentence.
Deputies can't be as aggressive in serving warrants when they know there is
no room in the jail.

If Wilson County sets its new jail capacity based on its current
population, it could soon find itself crowded again.

This would also be a good time for Wilson County to assess other areas and
programs that also affect its jail population. Wilson County already has a
drug court that treats the drug and alcohol problems of young, nonviolent
offenders. Last summer, the county was awarded a $500,000 federal grant to
expand its drug court. Making full use of the drug court would not only
help reduce the current jail population but would also help reduce
recidivism, since substance abuse is such a dominant cause for many crimes.

No doubt, Wilson County would rather spend its finite resources on schools
or parks instead of a larger jail. Yet with lawsuits and federal
supervision, an overcrowded jail can be far more costly than building a new
facility that meets the county's current and future needs.