GIBSON COUNTY JAIL IS JAMMED

Officials Work To Correct Problem

TRENTON - Certified to hold 149 prisoners, the jail has held 200-plus
prisoners in recent months, including state inmates waiting for a prison
bed to become available. So like many other counties statewide, Gibson
County is looking to solve a problem that can compromise a jail's security
if left unchecked.

County officials are in the preliminary stages of looking at 60-plus bed
addition, Chief Deputy Chuck Arnold said. But no timetable has been set and
the idea has not been presented to the entire County Commission, he added.

The jail's average daily population is about 180 prisoners, according to a
Nov. 13 inspection by the Tennessee Corrections Institute in which
Inspector O'Neal Ellis wrote: "Strongly recommend that the county increase
the number of beds of the facility due to the continued overcrowded
population." He added that "security is compromised by the inmate
population and overcrowding."

The Gibson County Commission was told of the overcrowding at a Nov. 18
meeting, when the jail population was at 205. The population had run over
200 inmates nearly every day from July through September, Arnold said.

Military cots and portable beds were set up to equip two-men cells to
handle three inmate, while eight-men cells were stretched to house 10
during that period, Arnold said.

Some counties that have contracts with the state to house state prisoners
have taken some of Gibson County inmates in recent weeks. The state
Department of Corrections has also been transferring inmates from county
jails and has moved 32 from Gibson County since July 1, DOC spokesman Steve
Hayes said.

Gibson County's inmate population was down to 154 Tuesday, Arnold said.

He acknowledged the potential threat to security that overcrowding causes
but said "fortunately," they didn't have any problems.

Finding Space

Assistant Chief Butch Mitchell of the Madison County Sheriff's Department
believes unemployment, an increased population and drug problems are some
of the factors that have contributed to a larger inmate population.

Madison County moved prisoners from a 64-inmate facility four years ago to
a brand new one that housed 305 inmates. But about two years ago, they were
forced to re-open the 64-inmate facility, Mitchell said. The county also
has a 120-inmate penal farm.

But generally as of late, the county hasn't had an overcrowding problem,
Mitchell said. He added that a community service project has helped. That
project started in 1998 and sentences some with misdemeanors to community
service instead of jail.

Meanwhile, state officials look to add prison beds through construction to
accommodate a growing prison population.

In addition to plans to build a prison, the state has also entered a
contract for up to 1,500 beds at the Whiteville Correctional Facility in
Whiteville.

The Corrections Corporation of America or CCA owns the Whiteville prison.
But the state is contracting with Hardeman County to house prisoners at the
facility. Hardeman County is in turn leasing the Whiteville facility from
CCA and is contracting with CCA for CCA to manage the facility, Hayes said.

State law prohibits the state from contracting directly with a private
company to operate more than one facility. The state already has a contract
with CCA to manage South Central Correctional Center in Clifton, a state
owned prison.

The Whiteville facility has previously housed only Wisconsin prisoners, but
CCA is moving those prisoners back home, Hayes said. Since late October, as
the state has been able to place inmates at the facility, Wisconsin
prisoners have been transferred home, Hayes said.

That in turn has helped some counties with "capacity issues," he added. The
state has transferred 430 inmates to the Whiteville facility since Oct. 28.

By May 2003, only Tennessee prisoners will be housed at the Whiteville
facility, Hayes said.

In the meantime, the state is completing a feasibility study for a new
1,500-bed prison at a Weakley County site. The state is also determining
the feasibility of adding beds in East Tennessee. The state will explore
the feasibility of expanding in Morgan and Bledsoe counties.

The DOC will report back to the corrections oversight committee in March
for final approval on the Weakley County site if it's determined to be
suitable. It will also take the committee information on Bledsoe and Morgan
counties for possible additions of beds there, Hayes said.

"Anytime we add more beds, it's got to help, at least temporarily to
relieve some of the problems," TCI Assistant Director Peggy Sawyer said.
Few county jails have extra space, she added.

"I don't think Tennessee is alone in this problem," Sawyer said.

She added that those counties that have jail overcrowding are trying to
remedy the situation in a number of ways such as:

- - Building new jails or adding on to existing ones

- - Issuing citations instead of making arrests for misdemeanor crimes

- - Having a magistrate release those who are arrested to appear in court at
a later date instead of putting them in jail

- - Getting state prisoners put back into the state system

- - Seeking early release for prisoners

- - Contracting with other counties to hold their prisoners.

The latter "doesn't happen often because counties have their own problems
to deal with," said Sawyer. Building has been the primary solution.

"What's causing the overcrowding?" she added. "Too many prisoners, not
enough beds, too much crime. We can talk about building, building,
building, but where's it going to end?"