County jails’ operating costs add up fast
Your tax dollars keep our county jails running. NewsChannel 21 wanted to know how that money is being spent.
Through tours of the facilities in Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties, we compiled information on costs and populations. While each jail is very different, the sheriffs who run these facilities expressed similar sentiments about daily challenges.
Like many businesses, personnel is the single greatest cost for any jail.
“When you do that operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,” says Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins, “we’ve got to have the personnel to do that.”
Crook County’s jail needs just one person to operate. Though Crook County Sheriff Jim Hensley is not happy about it.
“There’s a lot of times there’s only one guy on in our jail,” he says. “And he has to be able to look up and see what’s going on back there.”
Jefferson County needs a minimum of three people to run its jail. Up to 20 people can be on shift on Deschutes County.
“It’s a fluid business,” Deschutes County Jail Capt. Shane Nelson says. “You don’t know what you’re going to get from time to time.”
Medical costs are the jails’ second-highest expense. Once a person enters custody, their own health insurance is suspended. In more pressing medical situations, it can lead to furloughs of inmates, so they are no longer in custody and racking up costs to the public.
“It’s a game that we are forced to play,” Sheriff Adkins says.
All three sheriffs have noticed increasing mental health issues.
“We’re required to keep them safe while they’re in the jail,” Sheriff Adkins says. “We need to care for them.”
Then there are the costs of food.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires that inmates are served a minimum of 1,600 calories every day.
The sheriffs agree that there’s a balance between keeping costs low and feeding hungry inmates.
Crook County gets its meals from the Washington State Department of Corrections. Jefferson County has a cook who shops around for the best prices. Deschutes contracts with national distributor, Aramark.
Most inmates are out after a week, though it’s about more than serving a sentence.
“The hope is that we won’t ever see them in our facility again, which is a savings and is fiscally responsible,” Captain Nelson says.
Here are some statistics for each county’s jail operation:
Crook County
* $1.3 million annual budget
* Number of available beds: 16
* Average daily population: 16
* Cost per night: $168
* Cost per meal: $1.80
Jefferson County
* $4.4 million budget
* Number of available beds: 160
* Average daily population: 75
* Cost per night: $95
* Cost per meal: $2.50
Deschutes County
* $15.4 million budget
* Number of available beds: 452
* Average daily population: 260
* Cost per night: $92
* Cost per meal: $1.25
