Pubdate: Fri, 26 Jul 2002
Source: Morning Sentinel (ME)
Copyright: 2002 Morning Sentinel
Contact:  http://www.onlinesentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1474
Author: Alan Crowell

PREDICTING JAIL NEEDS OFTEN TOUGH TO DO

SKOWHEGAN - Increasing numbers of incarcerated women and more widespread 
use of drugs like heroin and OxyContin are among the factors that have 
Department of Corrections officials concerned about inmate population 
projections.

A study for the Department of Corrections released earlier this year 
projects county jail populations will grow relatively slowly at about 11 
percent between 2000 and 2010.

But officials say several factors, including more probation officers, could 
change those projections significantly, turning a projected overall surplus 
of beds in 2010 into a serious deficit.

Those see-sawing trends illustrate the tough job faced by corrections 
officials and communities as they try to plan new jails.

"It is a very dynamic environment," said Ralph Nichols, director of the 
Department of Corrections.

Nichols is also a member of the Somerset County Jail Building Committee now 
trying to determine whether to expand the existing 45- bed jail in downtown 
Skowhegan or build a new facility elsewhere.

At present, the committee favors adding an 80-bed wing to the existing 
facility. After a number of modifications to the old facility, the new jail 
would have the capacity to hold about 115 inmates.

But some members of the committee say that plan will leave the county with 
a facility with little room for parking and no room for expansion.

Somerset County Sheriff Barry DeLong said he would like to at least be able 
to compare the cost of an addition with a totally new facility that could 
be expanded easily.

Recently, fluctuations in jail populations show the difficulty predicting 
the number of inmates jails will have to house, let alone the make up of 
future jail populations in terms of gender or treatment needs.

Statewide, county jails have seen a dramatic 17 percent increase in their 
population over roughly the past 12 months.

That increase followed a decrease of roughly the same size in county jail 
populations from 2000 to 2001.

Nichols said part of the reason for the recent increase appears to be 
courts cleaning up their sentencing backlogs, more probation revocations 
possibly caused by an increase in the number of probation officers, and an 
increase in burglary and theft due to drug abuse.

"We believe that drug trafficking in cocaine and heroin in particular has 
caused that spike," he said.

Abuse of drugs like heroin and OxyContin is often tied to more theft and 
burglary crimes as addicts steal to support their habit.

Despite their rising numbers, women remain a small percentage of the 
overall jail population - in 2000, there were an average of 1,117 men in 
county jails statewide, compared to 93 women, according to the report.

The increase in female inmates is only one of many challenges jails face, 
Nichols said.

"We are seeing much more drug addiction and many more mental health 
(consumers) than we used to see. That is resulting in some pretty big 
increases in costs," he said.

It is also a trend that takes a hard toll on corrections officers.

Often inmates with drug or mental health problems arrive at jails in 
crisis, Nichols said.

"When you get them they are acting out. They are out of control," he said.

DeLong said those trends have hit his county hard.

"We are having people brought in routinely who probably shouldn't be in 
jail. They are mentally ill," he said.

Built in the 1890s and renovated in the early 1980s, the Somerset County 
Jail has room for 45 inmates, but has often had more than twice that 
number. On Thursday it held 73.

More of those inmates are incarcerated for violent crimes, like rape and 
murder, than in past decades, DeLong said. And more are women.

DeLong agreed with Nichols that the influx of drugs like heroin, cocaine 
and OxyContin is a factor behind the increase.

"There seems to be a tendency to have women become more involved in 
criminal activities ... it appears that drugs has had a big influence on 
that," he said.

Jail Administrator Stephen R. Giggey estimated that the number of women has 
at least doubled in the past three years and that trend is showing no sign 
of reversing.

Because Somerset County Jail cannot house women, each female inmate is 
taken to another facility at a cost of about $75 for the trip alone and 
$82.50 for each night at that facility.

DeLong said he believes that any new jail should be designed and built to 
allow for easy future expansion.

"I think we should look at long-term as well as immediate needs," he said.
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