Is Overcrowding in Our Local Jail a Problem?

 

After the November Union County Commission meeting, Union County Sheriff Billy Breeding took the commissioners on a tour of our county’s jail ahead of an expected visit at the December commission meeting from TCI’s (Tennessee Correctional Institute) Bob Bass.

In TDOC’s (Tennessee Department of Correction) October report, the Union County Jail had a total of 99 inmates. The facility only has beds for 76 of those prisoners, setting the capacity at 130.3 percent. As a result, the Union County Jail is overcrowded.

According to the report, 70.7 percent of this inmates are awaiting trial for misdemeanor charges. A crime in severity that is only punishable by up to one year in jail. Only 12.1 percent of those inmates are awaiting trial for felony charges, 2.0 percent of the inmates are serving a sentence for a conviction of a misdemeanor, and 3.0 percent are convicted felons awaiting a bed with a state prison facility.

In a 2003 report of overcrowding in Tennessee’s county jails, John G. Morgan of the Tennessee State Comptroller’s Office stated, “Overcrowding presents many implications for governments. It strains county and state budgets and severely limits a facility’s capacity to provide adequate safety, medical care, food service, recreation, and sanitation.” Overcrowding increases inmate on inmate/correctional officer violence.

The Tennessee Corrections Institute (TCI) has no power to enforce its standards, resulting in conditions that endanger inmates, staff, and the public. The report from the comptroller’s offices also stated that TCI continues to certify inadequate and overcrowded jails that do not meet state standards. TCI establishes minimum standards, conducts inspections, and certifies local correctional facilities. Being “noncertified” is believed to be the department’s form of enforcement.

According to TDOC’s October report, only 5 jails in Tennessee are noncertified, those include Van Buren County, Cannon County, Cocke County, Pickett County, and Hamblen County.

During the tour, commissioners witnessed female inmates, who are also over-populated, laying on thin mats in the floor because no beds were available. This seemed to concern some of the commissioners. The Union County Jail has an available female capacity of 12. In the October TDOC report, the jail was holding a total of 16 females. Eleven of those females are awaiting trail for misdemeanor charges, one is serving a sentence for a misdemeanor conviction, three are awaiting trial for a felony charge, and one other is a convicted felon awaiting sentencing.

Bob Bass with TCI is expected to discuss the liability that the jail situation could impose on taxpayers. In the early 2000’s, a lawsuit was filed against Union County for similar conditions. The plaintiff in the case did not seek monetary gain but rather an updated Union County correctional facility, an action that brought an approximate $2 million renovation of the current jail. To many folks, this action has been referred to as a “band-aid on a broken bone,” meaning it was a very temporary fix on an issue that couldn’t be helped in that fashion.

During the December meeting, we hope to learn more details of the recommendations by TCI and possibly hear ideas of how the commissioners might try to address the issues. Currently, there are 21 corrections officers in the jail and 16 deputies according to a wages roster obtained from the Union County Finance Office.