brokeninoz
08-25-2005, 03:24 AM
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http://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gifPosted on Wed, Aug. 24, 2005http://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gifhttp://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gif
County looks at jail options
Sedgwick County's jail may be overcrowded because it's housing too many people who don't need to be incarcerated, a study suggests.
BY DEB GRUVER
The Wichita Eagle
A 51-year-old homeless man who stole a $2 hot dog during a diabetic seizure probably doesn't belong in the Sedgwick County Jail, county officials said Tuesday.
The man's case came up during a county workshop called to study alternatives to keep more people out of the overcrowded jail.
At the same time it is studying how best to expand the jail, the county also is looking at ways to stem the jail's growth spurt.
Building a bigger jail means more money from taxpayers. Programs that could keep people out of jail also could be costly but would likely cost less than expanding jail capacity.
A study by Wichita State University faculty members Delores Craig-Moreland and Michael Birzer shows that Sedgwick County's arrest rates are on par with the national average but that its incarceration rates are higher than the national average.
Nationally, 243 out of every 100,000 people end up in jail each year, compared with 285 people per 100,000 in Sedgwick County.
"That's a substantial, substantial difference," Craig-Moreland told city and county officials and judges at a workshop Tuesday.
Kansas' laws are one factor, officials said.
Sheriff Gary Steed also offered a theory.
"We are the parole mecca for the state of Kansas," Steed said.
A 1998 study by The Eagle found that nearly one out of every three felons released on parole from Kansas prisons ends up as a Sedgwick County resident.
The county is projecting that the jail will need 1,660 beds by 2010 and 2,400 beds by 2020.
The jail now has 1,068 beds. Steed said the daily population at the jail is 1,400 to 1,500 people.
"If we were incarcerating at the national rate, we would have an adequate number of beds," Craig-Moreland said.
The national growth rate at jails is 1 percent. Sedgwick County's is between 6 percent and 8 percent a year, she said.
Compared with national profiles, there were more Sedgwick County inmates in jail for violent crimes and fewer in jail for property crimes.
The study highlighted the $2 hot dog theft case.
The man arrested and booked into the jail had 18 prior arrests, mostly minor offenses.
Craig-Moreland said sheriff's deputies told her "they deal with things like this quite frequently."
The county is trying to figure out ways to keep such people out of jail so beds can be used for more serious offenses.
"My family doesn't feel safer knowing that the $2 hot dog guy is in jail or kayakers are in jail," County Manager Bill Buchanan said, alluding to two people arrested for kayaking the Arkansas River during a storm.
County commissioners made no decisions at their workshop Tuesday but agreed to have Craig-Moreland study several alternatives to see how they could decrease the jail population.
She said some communities have had success with mental health diversion programs in which potential inmates are booked at a separate facility and receive services while being supervised.
Work centers also have been a success for some jurisdictions.
The county also will study the potential impact of a drug court, a traffic jail diversion center and the possibility of housing fees. If, for example, the city of Wichita wanted to keep someone in jail for stealing a $2 hot dog, the county would charge the city a housing fee.
Commissioners agreed to allow Craig-Moreland to continue her $14,000 study, but Commissioner Ben Sciortino also stressed the importance of handling today's crisis.
"We need to deal with the sheriff's needs today," Sciortino said, underscoring how the jail already is overcrowded.
The county has updated four options for expanding the jail.
The first option would add 300 beds and cost $36.8 million to build and $6.2 million annually to operate. To pay for this, the county would raise taxes on a $100,000 home by $30.94 a year.
Option two would add 296 beds and cost $33.8 million to build and $6.1 million a year to operate. The owner of a $100,000 home would pay $29.90 more per year in taxes.
The third option would add 396 beds and cost $43.5 million to build and $7.33 million a year to operate. The owner of a $100,000 home would pay $36.80 more.
A fourth option--Steed's preference at this point--would add 384 beds, cost $46.3 million to build and $7.37 million a year to operate. The owner of a $100,000 home would pay $37.72 more.
Reach Deb Gruver at 268-6400 or dgruver@wichitaeagle.com (dgruver@wichitaeagle.com).
© 2005 Wichita Eagle and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
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http://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gifPosted on Wed, Aug. 24, 2005http://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gifhttp://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gif
County looks at jail options
Sedgwick County's jail may be overcrowded because it's housing too many people who don't need to be incarcerated, a study suggests.
BY DEB GRUVER
The Wichita Eagle
A 51-year-old homeless man who stole a $2 hot dog during a diabetic seizure probably doesn't belong in the Sedgwick County Jail, county officials said Tuesday.
The man's case came up during a county workshop called to study alternatives to keep more people out of the overcrowded jail.
At the same time it is studying how best to expand the jail, the county also is looking at ways to stem the jail's growth spurt.
Building a bigger jail means more money from taxpayers. Programs that could keep people out of jail also could be costly but would likely cost less than expanding jail capacity.
A study by Wichita State University faculty members Delores Craig-Moreland and Michael Birzer shows that Sedgwick County's arrest rates are on par with the national average but that its incarceration rates are higher than the national average.
Nationally, 243 out of every 100,000 people end up in jail each year, compared with 285 people per 100,000 in Sedgwick County.
"That's a substantial, substantial difference," Craig-Moreland told city and county officials and judges at a workshop Tuesday.
Kansas' laws are one factor, officials said.
Sheriff Gary Steed also offered a theory.
"We are the parole mecca for the state of Kansas," Steed said.
A 1998 study by The Eagle found that nearly one out of every three felons released on parole from Kansas prisons ends up as a Sedgwick County resident.
The county is projecting that the jail will need 1,660 beds by 2010 and 2,400 beds by 2020.
The jail now has 1,068 beds. Steed said the daily population at the jail is 1,400 to 1,500 people.
"If we were incarcerating at the national rate, we would have an adequate number of beds," Craig-Moreland said.
The national growth rate at jails is 1 percent. Sedgwick County's is between 6 percent and 8 percent a year, she said.
Compared with national profiles, there were more Sedgwick County inmates in jail for violent crimes and fewer in jail for property crimes.
The study highlighted the $2 hot dog theft case.
The man arrested and booked into the jail had 18 prior arrests, mostly minor offenses.
Craig-Moreland said sheriff's deputies told her "they deal with things like this quite frequently."
The county is trying to figure out ways to keep such people out of jail so beds can be used for more serious offenses.
"My family doesn't feel safer knowing that the $2 hot dog guy is in jail or kayakers are in jail," County Manager Bill Buchanan said, alluding to two people arrested for kayaking the Arkansas River during a storm.
County commissioners made no decisions at their workshop Tuesday but agreed to have Craig-Moreland study several alternatives to see how they could decrease the jail population.
She said some communities have had success with mental health diversion programs in which potential inmates are booked at a separate facility and receive services while being supervised.
Work centers also have been a success for some jurisdictions.
The county also will study the potential impact of a drug court, a traffic jail diversion center and the possibility of housing fees. If, for example, the city of Wichita wanted to keep someone in jail for stealing a $2 hot dog, the county would charge the city a housing fee.
Commissioners agreed to allow Craig-Moreland to continue her $14,000 study, but Commissioner Ben Sciortino also stressed the importance of handling today's crisis.
"We need to deal with the sheriff's needs today," Sciortino said, underscoring how the jail already is overcrowded.
The county has updated four options for expanding the jail.
The first option would add 300 beds and cost $36.8 million to build and $6.2 million annually to operate. To pay for this, the county would raise taxes on a $100,000 home by $30.94 a year.
Option two would add 296 beds and cost $33.8 million to build and $6.1 million a year to operate. The owner of a $100,000 home would pay $29.90 more per year in taxes.
The third option would add 396 beds and cost $43.5 million to build and $7.33 million a year to operate. The owner of a $100,000 home would pay $36.80 more.
A fourth option--Steed's preference at this point--would add 384 beds, cost $46.3 million to build and $7.37 million a year to operate. The owner of a $100,000 home would pay $37.72 more.
Reach Deb Gruver at 268-6400 or dgruver@wichitaeagle.com (dgruver@wichitaeagle.com).
© 2005 Wichita Eagle and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.kansas.com