'No vacancy' not an option at jail
<p>Kootenai County Sheriff’s deputy Josh Dunne works at a monitoring station Monday during his shift at the jail in Coeur d’Alene. Overcrowding has put a strain on the facility’s resources, prompting the sheriff to seek a solution that included a proposal for new jail.</p>
<p>Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger discusses the details of a proposed new 625-bed jailing facility that would be built by a private entity but run by the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office.</p>
<p>A high security risk inmate is escorted by a sheriff’s deputy inside the Kootenai County Jail.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger said he can't put a "No Vacancy" sign in front of the jail.
He has to find a bed for everyone who needs to be there each day.
"(The law) says the sheriff shall accept all prisoners," Wolfinger said. "So if the court sends me prisoners, I got to accept them."
If a local law enforcement agency brings someone in, Wolfinger takes them.
He doesn't have enough beds, and it's a problem that's nothing new.
The original portion of the current jail was built in 1987, and 13 years later an expansion was approved by voters - increasing the size of the jail from 127 beds to 327 beds, Wolfinger said.
"Yesterday's total of inmates was 365," the sheriff said Monday, taking a Press reporter on a tour of the facility.
Since 2000, efforts to further expand the jail have failed three times.
So Kootenai County pays to transport prisoners to eastern and central Washington, or down to Nez Perce County, Idaho, to be held. In addition to the cost of travel and lodging, the county is exposed to the liability of taking the prisoners on the road, said Kootenai County Commissioner Dan Green.
"The jail is the county's biggest liability for getting sued, and how we deal with inmates," Green said.
Wolfinger said 10 to 20 percent of the county's inmate population is housed out-of-county.
Making Wolfinger's job even more difficult, his jail staff can't place any inmate in any jail cell.
Inmates are classified based on their criminal histories, current allegations, enemies and gang affiliations.
"That tells you how they have to be housed," Wolfinger said. "It's not just finding empty beds, it's finding the right empty beds."
The jail population is changing.
In 2000, approximately three-quarters of the jail's inmates were misdemeanor offenders.
"Today, that runs about 72 percent felons, or major offenders," Wolfinger said. "The demographics here have just totally flip-flopped."
Jail crowding creates more liability, Wolfinger said.
"Too many people crowded into too small of a space - tempers flare," Wolfinger said. "That's where you get assaults on inmates, assaults on deputies."
The Kootenai County commissioners have been negotiating with Rocky Mountain Corrections, of Ketchum, Idaho, on an agreement that would have the company build and own a new jail in Kootenai County that Wolfinger's office would run.
That jail is proposed to have 625 beds, and would likely be located somewhere in Coeur d'Alene or Hayden, possibly Post Falls. The new facility would have to be close to the different law enforcement agency offices and the courts.
Later this month, a District Court judge will conduct a hearing on "judicial confirmation," a process which will address a couple paragraphs in a draft contract with Rocky Mountain Corrections, Green said. Getting confirmation on the contract language will mean a major hurdle has been cleared.
Green said contract numbers still need to be finalized.
Both Wolfinger and Green believe a privately-owned and county-leased facility will save the county money.
"Right now we run a ratio of about three inmates per staff member," Wolfinger said.
The new facility, which Wolfinger has helped design, would bring that to six inmates per staff member.
"That's a huge plus for us," Wolfinger said.
Green said other counties - such as Spokane County - are short of jail space, and Kootenai County could house some out-of-county inmates and charge those counties for the service.
"Rental income is key," Green said. "Instead of transporting people out, we would become the landlord."
The site of a new jail would have 20 acres, so the jail, if it's built, could be expanded to house more than 900 prisoners.
Green said he was elected to be a steward of tax dollars. Jail costs are only increasing, he said.
"This proposal actually is a good, fiscally-sound policy for the county," Green said.
The county can't continue to kick the can down the road, he said.
This jail proposal could put the county ahead of the curve, ensuring the county can house its own prisoners for years to come and also reduce expenses, Green said.
The county has to have a so-called 'parachute plan' in case there is a problem with leasing a new facility from Rocky Mountain, with the contracts running one year at a time. That plan would be for the county to move back into the current jail.
"We'll maintain this facility," Wolfinger said.
The county could store evidence in the jail, North Idaho College could use it for training in its law enforcement program, and Kootenai Health could use part of the facility for a mental health crisis center, he said.
Wolfinger said construction would take two years, so he is hoping ground could be broken in October.