Fulton County Sheriff Chris Sailors doesn’t believe overcrowding at the Fulton County Jail is something that will go away anytime soon.
Sailors has now compiled 2017 jail statistics and can compare them to previous years. He shared that information with commissioners Tuesday and the Fulton County Council on Wednesday.
Over the year, the jail’s average inmate population increased nearly 22 percent – from 76.17 in 2016 to 92.67 in 2017.
“Jan. 1, 2015, when I took office, we had 45 inmates in the jail,”
Sailors said. “As of Tuesday, Jan. 16, we had a total of 110 …” The following day, the jail’s inmate population reached an all-time high of 117. The jail is rated for 76 inmates; however, Indiana Jail Standards call for an average occupancy rate of 80 percent, which means there should be no more than 61 inmates.
Sailors added 23 Fulton County inmates are currently being held in other counties – 12 in Miami County, 10 in Steuben County and one in Marshall County.
Sailors also spoke about recidivism, or the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend. Of the 110 inmates booked at the jail on Tuesday, he noted, 93 of them were returnees.
“Most people in corrections and law enforcement will tell you it’s undoubtedly, across the board, about 70 percent,” Sailors said of the average recidivism rate. Fulton County’s rate: 84.5 percent.
A breakdown of the 110 inmates booked at the Fulton County Jail on Tuesday shows 56 have had two-five prior bookings here, 16 had six-10 and 21, 11 or more.
Bookings increase
Sailors’ statistics show the number of inmates increased by nearly 11 percent, from 1,189 in 2016 to 1,318 in 2017. As a point of comparison, 894 people were booked in 2007.
Councilman Randy Sutton asked Sailors what he attributed the increases to.
“I think part of it has to do with the drug situation,” Sailors responded. “I mean, we’ve got more crime now because of the drugs.”
He lauded the efforts of the Citizen Action Committee, which launched an initiative to regulate the sale of pseudophedrine- related products, but said the drug is still being brought into the county.
The committee’s work was mirrored in a 2016 state law.
“We saw almost an immediate reaction to that,” Sailors said, adding “It’s almost unheard of” that deputies come across a meth lab as a result. “Now, we have the opioid issue, which is not just here in Fulton County. It’s everywhere.”
Sailors said another contributing factor to jail overcrowding is the state’s 2014 criminal code reform, House Enrolled Act 1006. The bill requires low-level and nonviolent offenders to serve their sentences in county jails, not prisons.
Cost to the county
The final statistic Sailors presented shows the county spent $79,100 in 2017 to house 121 inmates elsewhere.
It could have been much worse. To stay on par with Indiana Jail Standards’ recommended 80-percent occupancy, the county would have spent more than $400,000, he said.
So sending 43 inmates in November to other jails would have cost $1,500 per day, noted Councilman Barry Hazel.
The county has until early March to respond to a noncompliance letter issued by the state. Chance Sweat, a state jail inspector for the Department of Corrections, determined the jail was overcrowded, understaffed and had inadequate space for medications, records and various supplies. Commissioners are to say how they will address and fund those issues.
County Attorney Greg Heller is tasked with preparing a response letter. County officials have also reached out to State Representative Bill Friend, R-Macy, who has sponsored a bill that, if approved, would allow the county to add a special purpose income tax of .65 percent, large enough it would tie as the largest in the state.
The additional revenue, as Commissioner Bryan Lewis pointed out, could be used to construct a new jail, renovate the current facility or hire more jailers.
Meanwhile, commissioners have appointed a committee to study jail overcrowding and possible solutions.