A year ago, overcrowding at the county jail became a serious problem, forcing the sheriff to find other counties to house Platte County prisoners. With this continuing problem in mind, the Platte County Commission this week authorized an agreement with a consultant for an updated jail study.
Consultant Bill Garnos completed a study for the county in 2019, with a ballot measure seeking funding to build a new jail that year failing to pass.
District Commissioner Dagmar Wood, who served on the jail committee nearly a decade ago, said she was hesitant to place another measure on the ballot and she continues to look for other options, including looking at options for on- and off-site housing options.
“An update to the jail population projections will help us understand how urgently we must deal with this issue,” said district commissioner Joe Vanover. “It would be great if people would stop breaking the law. But I’m afraid wishing the problem goes away will not be enough.”
Major Erik Holland noted that during his last study, Garnos’ predictions for the 2023 jail population was “pretty spot on the nose” for what the current jail population is. As of Monday morning, the jail population is 180 – effectively full.
The new consulting agreement was approved, with a cost not to exceed $970.
Also at the meeting, with the Sheriff’s Office presented two items related to police dogs. Aries, one of the sheriff’s drug-sniffing dogs, was retired late last year due to his training as a marijuana-sniffing dog after the legalization of recreational marijuana in Missouri.
The sheriff’s office is seeking grant funds through the state to help pay for the purchase of another police canine, however, waiting on the grand funding would close the window for the department to receive a trained dog, so the commission also approved a purchase agreement with the Houston Canine Academy for $14,000 to move forward with the acquisition of a new canine officer.
The sheriff’s office is also entering into a lease agreement with the U.S. Navy for night vision equipment.