There is no end in sight for the jail overcrowding issue. The Platte County Sheriff’s Office delivered this message to the county commission this week during an open session.
During the commission’s regular administrative session Monday, May 16, at the Platte County Resource Center, sheriff Mark Owen and Captain Jeffrey Shanks presented a report on the situation at the jail.
During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and periodically since, emergency declarations from the state shut down the courts and allowed the sheriff to suspend detentions of non-violent offenders to keep the jail population low. Since those restrictions have loosened, the jail population has skyrocketed.
Over the past several months, the sheriff’s office has been forced to transfer prisoners to Clay and Buchanan counties due to overcrowding in Platte County.
Owen said as of the meeting, there were just under 200 inmates in the Platte County Detention Center in Platte City. The facility was built to hold 154, but was expanded over the years to house 180. Owen said last week the county transferred 11 of its convicted inmates to the state prison, giving the jail a bit of wriggle room, but only for the moment.
There are more than 20 prisoners set for extradition to Platte County over the next several days, kicking the number back up to over 220 prisoners.
“There for a while we were running at around 197 to 200 and that’s manageable,” Owen said. “When we start getting into 215, 220 and above, we’re out of control, basically, on trying to keep up with it.”
Inmates cannot be properly separated as required by federal law, creating what Owen called “havok,” and potentially opening the county up for liability claims.
In the past weeks, Clay and Buchanan counties were able to house extra inmates for around $50 per day, but both jails were filling up themselves. When those two facilities are full, it forces the sheriff’s office to travel further, potentially to Cass County, the Warrensburg area, or into other rural counties.
Additionally, Owen said several inmates are currently being treated at area hospitals, forcing the county to pay overtime to guard those inmates at the hospital.
Yet another challenge is difficulty in securing transit services, as contract companies able to handle prisoner transfers have become hard to find due to the pandemic.
Shanks cited the report completed in 2018 by consultant Bill Garnos and added average daily population (ADP) numbers from the date of the report through the first quarter of this year.
“We’re already one year ahead of Mr. Garnos’ projection,” Shanks said, saying the 2018 report projected an ADP of 202 in 2023. The county’s ADP is currently 205, for just the first quarter of 2022. “Exponentially, the county is growing, we know that with all the developments that are happening now. We’re going to continue to grow. There’s no reason to think that we won’t.”
Inmate population can fluctuate wildly, due to various factors such as the courts, extraditions, transfers and other issues.
The county no longer has that option, since over the past three years, Shanks said, there’s been a more than 50 percent increase in the ADP at the detention center. The increase in ADP causes other costs to go up, such as food, medical, payroll, transportation and other costs. According to projections, the county will begin seeing budget overages in those areas if the ADP stays high.
Previously, the county housed detainees for Immigrations Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the City of Kansas City for extra money.
Owen told commissioners that prior to the pandemic, the county had about 3,500 outstanding warrants but now there are 9,000 as the courts and law enforcement both slowed down on pulling in all but the most violent criminals.
Inmates are also staying in the detention center longer, which Shanks said is out of the control of the sheriff’s office. The speed at which the courts move, decisions made by judges and various other factors influence the length of stay for inmates.
Presiding commissioner Ron Scheiber questioned what measures the sheriff’s office was taking to keep jail populations low.
Owen said whenever possible, the county attempts to use online resources to conduct court business, but there are legal limits to the use of those resources.
Scheiber questioned if detainees were gaming the system, as some who are already held on other convictions but facing Platte County charges are sent to Platte County.
Those inmates may come to the county by their own request or by a judge’s order, and once in the county some waive their right to a speedy trial to stay in county custody instead of state custody.
“We’re just the keeper of the inn and we’re solely at the discretion of the courts,” Owen said. “But we’re not like the Motel 6, since we can’t put up a sign that says no vacancy.”
Commissioners said that treatment court and educational programs are helping to reduce the jail population by rehabilitating some offenders.
“I’m still holding out hope that we can figure something out,” Schieber said. “I don’t want to be on the opposite side from you, but I think we need to look at all options. Even if we had the money, and we started building a jail tomorrow, it’s still not going to be ready for several years.”
Owen said the longer the matter of building more physical capacity is held off, the further down the line that construction will be and money expended on housing inmates elsewhere will be money down the drain that could have been used in-county.
“I want to be an optimist,” said district commissioner Joe Vanover. “But I see a wave of inmates headed our direction.”
“Spend a couple days with me,” Shanks responded, agreeing that an influx was indeed ahead.
Shanks said bed space is a commodity and the county has a high number of dangerous felons, which are riskier to move around and many facilities won’t accept them.
No decisions were made at the meeting, with commissioners in agreement that discussions on the situation would continue.