Kootenai County officials talk legal system

COEUR d’ALENE — Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said his agency is adequately staffed for the first time since he took office in early 2021.

“We’re stabilized and we have light at the end of the tunnel,” he told a crowd of about 100 community members during a Tuesday night event billed as a "crime town hall" and held at the county building in Coeur d'Alene.

Norris was one of several officials in Kootenai County’s legal system who participated in a panel discussion about their offices and the challenges they face.

At its worst, the jail was down about 30% of the staff it needs to operate safely, while the dispatch center was down almost 40% within the last two years.

“We were hemorrhaging,” Norris said.

He attributes positive progress to the county’s increase in pay for detention deputies and 911 dispatchers. He also said the $9 million set aside by commissioners late last year to complete two unfinished dormitory pods at the jail will make a difference.

“It should improve conditions for the inmates and for staffing,” he said.

But in the meantime, the jail remains consistently overcrowded.

When fully staffed, the county jail’s functional capacity is around 380 people, about 80% of its total capacity. Norris said 510 people were incarcerated in Kootenai County Tuesday night.

The sheriff said he believes substance abuse problems are at the root of the vast majority of crimes and arrests in Kootenai County. Criminal activity such as theft or battery is also often linked to substance abuse in some way, he said.

“They support their habit by stealing from their family members, their neighbors and everybody else they know or don’t know and that’s generally how this cycle goes,” Norris said.

County prosecuting attorney Stan Mortensen agreed, suggesting as much as 90% of crimes prosecuted by his office are rooted in substance abuse issues.

“In the majority of the domestic situations, one or both parties are intoxicated,” he said. “Either it’s alcohol or drugs. The majority of thefts are to support a habit.”

County officials also discussed what happens when minors enter the legal system.

Police have some discretion when dealing with juvenile offenders, Norris said. For first-time, low-level offenses, a deputy might choose to speak with a child’s parents or issue a summons for court at a later date, rather than make an arrest.

“If it’s a first-time offender, it can certainly be traumatic to be taken away from your home,” Norris said.

But when youths are arrested, they go to the county’s juvenile detention center. The facility can house up to 53 youths, each in a separate room. There are currently about 18 residents.

“Our juvenile population grew and grew and we expanded and added more rooms in the early 2000s,” said Juvenile Detention Director Eric Sheffield. “Now our population is shrinking, shrinking, shrinking.”

After being arrested, minors go before a judge the next business day for a detention hearing. Most youths are released to a parent or legal guardian after this hearing, though some return to the juvenile detention center, where they continue to do schoolwork and other programming.

“Kids don’t skip a beat when they come to detention,” Sheffield said. “We’ve had juveniles graduate in detention. We’ve had them in past years achieve their GEDs in detention.”

Mortensen said his office is involved early on whenever a minor is arrested. Prosecutors coordinate with juvenile detention, diversion and probation staff, as well as area mental health resources, to determine the best course of action.

“For most first-time offenders, we’re doing everything possible to keep them out of the court system,” he said.

Mortensen said youths tend to have better outcomes when they have family support.

“The parents have to be involved if the child’s going to succeed,” he said. “At the end of the day, the child is the one being held accountable, but when parents are involved really early in the case, the chances of success are higher.”

Brian Alexander, juvenile probation director, said working with at-risk youth is rewarding.

“I love working with the kids,” he said. “We don’t get it that often, but when that kid comes back to you when they’re getting married and says, ‘Hey, thanks for being my advocate,’ that makes it worth it.”

County officials emphasized the importance of early intervention for juvenile offenders.

“If you ever want to put a dollar somewhere, at-risk kids are the best return on our investment,” Norris said.