BENDING THE BARS

County Prepares To Address The Jail's Overcrowding Dilemma

It is a question that Tompkins County has had a difficult time answering.

What do you do when you consistently run out of room in your jail?

The problem poses a series of both fiscal and philosophical dilemmas. Do
you expand the current facility or build a new one at substantial cost or
do you invest the money in programs that will help keep the inmate
population down? Is it easier to send inmates elsewhere, even when the cost
is high? And which is the best way to help both offenders and taxpayers?

These are not easy questions but ones that the county, after years of
debate and study, needs to answer.

Presently, Tompkins County is facing a deadline. In a few short weeks, the
state will decide if the county can receive an extension on variances that
allow them to substantially exceed their 73 inmate limit and house up to
103 inmates.

Recent spikes in the jail population have left the jail overcrowded and
staff at the county's Public Safety Building overworked, meaning there has
been a substantial need for these extra spaces.

If the state's Commission of Corrections denies an extension on these
variances - a distinct possibility since the county has already received
some leeway in this area - the county will either have to begin shipping
inmates to other county jails or find a way to house them all, and that
means an expensive expansion or the creation of an entirely new facility.

On March 19, Tompkins County Sheriff Peter Meskill will be heading to the
state capital with other county officials, like Board of Representatives
Chair Tim Joseph (D-Town of Ithaca) and County Administrator Stephen
Whicher, to explain why the county deserves more time to address its
overcrowded conditions.

The commission has been granting the variances on good faith for several
years, believing the county was actively looking at ways to combat the problem.

"They wanted county officials to come this time because they hadn't seen
solid evidence of a move towards a solution," Meskill says. "Their focus is
on the safety for the guards and proper care of inmates. ... And
essentially they understand that sheriffs don't make these kind of money
decisions, that it lies in the hands of county politicians."

The county, when it arrives, will ask for a two year extension on the
variances - variances which are rarely given out in such lengthy increments
according to Meskill.

According to Joseph, who chairs the newly resurrected Public Safety
Building Space Needs Committee, the time will allow the county to draw up
strategies for the building, plans which would include possible expansions
or rebuilding the facility.

The two years would also allow them a chance to see if programs meant to
curb the jail population are proving productive. Joseph personally would
rather explore all the options before committing to a costly building project.

"It all starts with understanding the overcrowding at the jail. Initially
you would just say, create more space. But the more cells you have, the
more cells you fill," Joseph says. "Then it becomes an endless negative
cycle. You end up housing more instead of just keeping them out."

But, unless the county does something, Meskill says, conditions will remain
unstable, which is very dangerous for all involved.

"The bottom line is that the more people there are in the facility, the
greater the overall risk is," Meskill says, referring to his staff of 34
corrections officers. "We try as hard as we can to keep up on everything,
but we are often running the line on keeping it efficient and safe."

Growing Pains

Originally built in 1983, the 32,000-square-foot Public Safety Building on
Warren Road had an original inmate capacity of 55. It was later expanded,
allowing the jail to hold up to 73 inmates. Today, with special permission
granted by the State Commission of Corrections, the jail can house 103 inmates.

Still, with an increase in the jail population of 50 percent in the last 10
years, the jail is consistently filling up, meaning they county has to
board inmates, or transport them, out to other jails to serve their time.

The big issue lies in the affordability to board out prisoners. When the
county needs to send an inmate to another jail, it costs them nearly $85
dollars a day in room and board costs. This does not factor in the cost of
overtime for the staff that have to transport the inmates nor the cost of fuel.

The problem with board-pouts is not new. Several years ago the jail was
averaging a count of 100-125 prisoners a day with one less variance,
meaning the jail could only house 90 inmates.

The county realizing the problem, hired LaBella Associates P.C., in
association with Bell & Spina P.C. and Allied Correctional Services, to
study the space needs of the jail and come up with both needs assessments
and potential solutions. The solutions, which varied from expansions to
building a new facility at a medium-range cost of $13 million, were placed
on a shelf as it became clear that the county could receive variances to
extend its population and as the cost of projects were viewed as too high
for the county to bear.

The need to study those solutions has come up again with the recent spike
in the population.

No one is sure what is causing the spike, but Joseph has stated that it may
be something temporary, like a surge of juvenile delinquents who are now
just getting to the age where they can be incarcerated but are not old
enough to send off to the jail, or an in-crease in parole violators.

Meskill is not totally surprised by the resurgence in inmate numbers.

"A rising jail population seems to be a trend around the state. This could
be partially due to the fact that the state government became much stricter
on crime and punishment in the '90s," he says, pointing to numerous other
counties in the region, like Cortland and Cayuga who have either opened a
new jail or are in the process of building one. "There is also a real
important need for jails to have room for spikes and unusual trends. There
needs to be space for things like an influx of repeat offenders."

Meskill claims that the jail is too small for a county with a population of
96,000. Other counties comparable in size, like Chemung, have facilities
that can house more than twice as many inmates.

Joseph believes this is an unfair comparison.

"The notion that we have a smaller size jail for our countie's size totally
ignores the student population," Joseph says, adding that infractions
students cause are almost always handled by their campus. "Actions that
would land others in jail do not apply to many students."

He also contends that the county may wish too hold off on any new
construction as the trend seems to be a lower inmate population.

"You can't tell how long it will last, but it can't last forever," Joseph
says. "I think things are changing. People are disenchanted with the lock
them down and throw away the key approach. It is also a fact that crime and
incarceration numbers are dropping nationwide."

As it is, the county has reestablished a space needs committee and has made
a promise that if given the variances, by the end of two years they will
have formed a hard plan on how to handle the jail. This will include
exploring the need for an expansion or an entire new jail. If the
population drops it might not be needed.

Whether or not one is in favor of a new facility or an expansion, Meskill
estimates that if you generalize the figures and board out say 20 prisoners
a day, the cost per year, with overtime, would be close to $600,000 a year.
A cost he says that would be a bigger drain on the county's coffers in the
long run.

Tim Joseph disagrees that it would be cheaper to build a facility and
believes it dubious to anticipate that the inmate population will just keep
rising.

"Everything we have seen says that it is cheaper to board out," Joseph
says. "It is a misconception that you need to build to save money."

Prevention, Not Prison

A changing national attitude towards incarceration is part of the reason
that the county decided to invest more in rehabilitation and assistance
programs, efforts generally labeled as Alternatives to Incarceration programs.

The county invested almost a million dollars into a series of new programs
that fall into the Alternatives to Incarceration vein, which includes
successful programs like the regional Drug Court and Offender Aid Restoration.

Operating on two years worth of funding given on a trial basis are programs
like the Community Justice Center, which began operation last June.

The center is a place where those who face felony charges can go instead of
jail and learn to fight their addictions and combat their destructive
behavior. Individuals can be assigned to the justice center under the
conditions of either a pretrial release, as a condition of their probation
or if they are doing poorly on probation and as a conditional discharge.

The center runs what is called a day reporting program. Attendees must come
to the center daily to take classes and receive counseling from agencies
that include the Alcohol and Drug Council of Tompkins County, the Community
Dispute Resolution Center, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and Literacy
Volunteers of Tompkins County.

"Everyone who is in jail or has ever been in jail says they are 'never
coming back,' but that is simply not true. Many are not given the tools
needed to get them out of that bad situation," says Becky Richmond,
coordinator of the program. "Here it is about the tools. This sounds corny,
but we have really seen a lot of change in people."

The success of the program lies in making the program fit the specific
needs of the client. If a person has a problem with alcohol addiction, they
need to take classes that help them address that addiction and its impact
on others.

"We need to individualize this as much as we can," Richmond says. "We
emphasize taking personal responsibility. ... I think for many, this is the
first time they have actually taken a real good look at themselves."

Another major initiative under taken by the county has been the Tompkins
County Felony Drug Treatment Court. A parallel to the drug court, the
program allows people the chance to change their destructive behaviors in
relation to substance abuse. It is for for those who "have a felony charge
as a direct result of their alcohol and drug use," says Desiree Johnson,
court coordinator.

"The reason behind the program was that there were these people who
desperately needed treatment. They weren't getting treatment and jail
wasn't stopping their behavior," she says.

While in the program, clients report to their case manager two to three
times a week and report to court on a weekly, bi-weekly, or tri-weekly
basis. They also participate in a life skills program offered at the
community justice center. Clients have to have one year of abstinence from
substance abuse to be available for graduation (A year and a half is the
average number, Johnson says.)

"We're still in the initial stages, but I think it is going well and I am
surprised at the motivation these folks have. For many, they have been in
the system a long time and we are their last stop," Johnson says. "I guess
they are highly motivated, because the alternative is so uncomfortable."

Another initiative that tackles the issues of substance abuse and its
impacts on others is the newly instated Family Treatment Court. The program
works with families that face Article 10, which means abuse and neglect,
and are at risk of having the children separated from the parents.

Through an intensive approach, parents work on getting past their
addictions. They see judge once a week, work with a case worker (probation
officer), a mental health provider, and a substance abuse person.

The county is also funding some early prevention programs in Groton and
Dryden by pushing Headstart initiatives through Tompkins Community Action.

As far as what the impact of these new programs on the jail population is,
no one is quite sure.

It will take time to determine, most maintain, to be able to judge if real
change is being implemented; Time that may take longer than the two years
the county wants to study these impacts.

Richmond says the comparison between program participation and jail
population is not direct.

"There is not necessarily a direct day-to-day relationship but there's
definitely a connection," she says.

Working at the Root Meskill says he believes the new initiatives are
important to helping with the overcrowding situation, but he believes as
far rehabilitation goes that there is a serious lack of programming being
done inside the jail itself. He believes that the county needs to let the
jail do in-house programs that will help promote rehabilitation before the
inmates are released.

But with problems related to money and such, Meskill knows that it would be
hard to get independently housed programs inside the jail or special
facilities. He is pushing for a program that uses other inmates and such to
promote rehabilitation.

"I think the jail should definitely have more of a role in rehabilitation,"
Meskill says. "Some counties are pushing this type of true rehabilitation
in their jails. I am willing to explore with the staff the feasibility of
this."

The initiative that Meskill likes involves setting off a separate area to
keep inmates in and expose them to progressive programs. This type of
transition program is one that many feel would solve problems before they
occur.

Joseph says the county is willing to explore it, but the big issue, as is
often the case, is money.

"When we set up the new programs, we knew there were certain gaps not being
filled," Joseph says. "Right now, we're just opening the door and sending
them out and that's a recipe for disaster... A transition program is
essential."

Will the state grant the county the variances it needs, no one is quite sure.

Meskill claims the relationship with the commission is solid, but he
believes they have been towing a very hard line the last few years and
commissioners might be reluctant to give the county more time.

"I think the relationship with the commission is good. We hope to continue
and maintain that relationship and hold onto these variances for as long as
we can."

In the end, the county may determine that they need to revamp or totally
rebuild the jail. If so, Meskill maintains that public safety officials are
not looking for a variety of perks and extravagances in a new facility.

"If the county board authorizes an expansion, my recommendation would be to
go with a design that would get us the most bang for our buck with the
staffing that we have," Meskill says.