INMATE POPULATION REACHES RECORD HIGH

Greenup Official to Push For More Home Incarceration

GREENUP - The Greenup County Detention Center's ongoing overcrowding
problem continued over the weekend with a record number of inmates.

Jailer Jim Womack said the population from Friday through Sunday was as
high as 137. The facility has only 84 beds.

Tuesday, the number was at 115, Womack said. The jail normally averages
more than 100 inmates per day.

The jail tries to keep at least 40 federal or state inmates all the time,
because it receives money to house them.

As many of as 85 of the inmates housed there recently have been county
prisoners, for which the county receives no funding.

"That's not an ideal situation; it fills your jail up," Womack said.

Greenup officials have been concerned for two years about the rising
population and the subsequent rising cost of maintaining the jail, not to
mention citations from the state government for overcrowding.

During a fiscal court meeting Tuesday, County Attorney Mike Wilson said his
office would push for home incarceration in some cases.

It costs the county $14 a day to keep an inmate on home incarceration,
along with a $50 fee to set up a monitoring device for that inmate.

But Wilson said keeping inmates at home could alleviate crowding problems
or free up space for another state or federal inmate.

Wilson said the district and circuit judges in Greenup generally dole out
tougher sentences for crimes that wouldn't result in incarceration in other
counties.

"In most counties, you get a fine for possession of marijuana. Here, you
plead to a year in jail and serve seven days," he said. "And, if you come
back a second time, you better watch out, because you could end up serving
the rest of that year."

While he's not advocating a move away from tough penalties, Wilson said the
jail's mounting expenses could end up costing county employees in terms of
pay and benefits.

Wilson, whose office prosecutes cases in district court, said he would
recommend lengthier jail sentences, if those sentences could be served
through home incarceration.

"If you'd get seven days in jail, we'd push for 14 days at home," he said.

The county attorney said he will offer pleas for home incarceration to
certain offenders during the next few months to determine if it will have
an impact on the jail situation.

In the meantime, Greenup officials are continuing to grapple with the
jail's spending problem.

The county has already transferred more than $500,000 this fiscal year from
its general fund into the jail budget.

As much as $36,000 is expected to be transferred into the jail budget next
week, Judge-Executive Bobby Carpenter said.

The fiscal court has appointed a task force made up of former county and
state officials and a retired businessman to evaluate the state of the jail
and possible options for solving the budget problem.

A report from that committee is expected in June.