Crook County Jail Space
In this April 27, 2016, photo, Crook County Sheriff's Office Undersheriff James Savage walks through the Prineville Jail, at the Prineville Police Department building. Crook County's Public Safety Advisory Committee is recommending the county build a new jail as a study found 70 to 90 people convicted of misdemeanors in any given month are either released early or avoid incarceration entirely, The Bulletin reported.
(Andy Tullis/The Bulletin via AP)
BEND -- Dozens of convicted offenders in Crook County have been set free because of a lack of jail space.
Crook County's Public Safety Advisory Committee is recommending the county build a new jail, as a study found 70 to 90 people convicted of misdemeanors in any given month are either released early or avoid incarceration entirely, The Bulletin reported. The committee, created last year, is a group of 21 county residents -- none of whom are public officials.
"Early on, we decided it'd be best if we were a committee of citizens," committee co-chairman Mike O'Herron said. "That way it's bottom-up as opposed to top-down. At the same time, we realized we're not pros -- we're not experienced law enforcement or with working in the courts."
Based on the study, the committee is recommending a new jail with at least 70 beds.
Currently, the county jail has 16 beds and rents an additional 25 beds for prisoners in the Jefferson County jail. On average, 103 people per month were sentenced to jail time in Crook County between 2014 and 2015, according to the committee's report.
Crook County Sheriff Joe Gautney said the public safety issue that's created by convicted offenders going free might encourage voters to support a bond measure in November. Previous efforts to pay for a new facility have been unsuccessful.
"We're in a crisis stage," Gautney said Friday. "It's costing us too much money, and we have too many people walking the streets who are waiting to do jail time."
About 440 inmates were released early in 2015 based on a matrix system that helps determine which inmate can be released if needed, according to the committee report. The matrix is a composite score based on the offender's criminal history and the seriousness of the crime committed.
"We had a guy who was arrested for stealing an antique car, and he was convicted and put in jail. We had no space for him -- and he got released and then he got arrested again for setting a fire in an alley," Gautney said. "It's a revolving door."
-- The Associated Press