CROWDING AT THE JAIL

Adding More Beds Is Not An Option, But Diverting Inmates Or More
Quickly Releasing The Non-violent Ones Are Options

Overcrowding was the first excuse jail officials came up with for
putting a 19-year-old University of Florida student into a cell with a
prisoner who has a lengthy history of violent offenses, including
sexual assault.

The student was allegedly raped by his cellmate, and the circumstances
surrounding that incident are, quite properly, under formal
investigation.

Without prejudging the results of that investigation, it's not too
early to say that the overcrowding excuse doesn't wash.

We agree with County Manager Randy Reid, who said "This appears to be
an issue of poor classification. You have to ask yourself whether it's
ever appropriate to put a first-time offender in a cell with someone
who has a history of assaults."

That said, the jail's capacity problems deserve attention.

Built in 1994 with 920 beds, the jail typically operates at or near
capacity on a daily basis. Sheriff Steve Oelrich - who operates the
jail - has asked for millions of dollars to expand it. As an
alternative, it's been suggested that classrooms and storage rooms be
converted to bed space for about $400,000.

County commissioners, already facing significant budget problems, will
certainly not approve millions for additional jail space, and probably
not even a few hundred thousand dollars for conversion. At least not
this year.

And we would venture to guess that there is little or no public
support for jail expansion. Reid was probably right when he told The
Sun recently that "the biggest supporters of sentencing are also the
people who hate tax increases."

Not too long ago, more than a thousand county residents jammed into a
local church to demand that the county spend more resources on parks
and recreation. If Sheriff Oelrich can get that many people in one
room to lobby the commission for a bigger jail, it'll be a miracle.

And would expanding the jail do any good?

History tells us that new or expanded jails are very quickly filled to
capacity again, if only because incarceration is the path of least
resistance in the criminal justice system. "If the local judges feel
there's bed space available, they'll use it," Tom Berlinger, director
of law enforcement for the Florida Sheriff's Association, told The Sun
recently.

Which is not to say that the County Commission can afford to wash its
hands of the jail crowding problem. It cannot. Neither can the courts.
Neither can local law enforcement.

In the past, this county has managed to cope with crowding problems by
mounting aggressive, coordinated and sustained efforts to divert as
many prisoners as possible into non-incarceration alternative programs.

Alachua County's drug court - which keeps non-violent
substance-addicted offenders out of jail - has been hailed as a
national model. Likewise, a mental health court works to divert
offenders who suffer from emotional problems.

The state Legislature has no intention of funding such innovative
diversionary programs; the county must do so as a cheaper alternative
to new jail beds.

Likewise, the amount of time prisoners must spend behind bars can be
reduced if judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and correctional
officials work more closely together to reduce case backlogs and speed
up the release of non-violent offenders who do not necessarily need to
be incarcerated.

Just as importantly, county commissioners must provide the funding
necessary to ensure that the jail - at its current size - is properly
staffed. Correctional officers who are overextended due to budget
exigencies are more likely to make poor decisions that could endanger
themselves or their charges.

Operating a jail - which must accept a wide range of prisoners from
career criminals to first-time offenders picked up for violating the
open container laws - is a difficult job under the best of
circumstances. It becomes almost impossible if COs are working double
shifts and trying to make do with fewer resources and less backup.

It's not possible nor desirable for Alachua County to "build its way"
out of this latest jail crowding problem.

What is needed is a coordinated effort on the part of a variety of
agencies to divert offenders who don't need to be in jail in the first
place, and to ensure that many of those who are incarcerated are
processed and released in as expeditious a manner as the law allows.