Should County Seek More Programs for Inmates to Reduce Recidivism?

March 4, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

As DeKalb County plans for what, where, and how to fund new jail facilities, should it also be doing more to seek or support programs and resources designed to help rehabilitate inmates to keep them from returning to jail.

During last Tuesday night’s Jail Committee meeting, County Commissioner Beth Pafford said studies show that DeKalb County has the highest incarceration rate of any county in the area our size and that drugs and probation violations top the list of criminal court filings here. Pafford suggested that programs to help inmates stay out of jail are worth looking into.

“Our incarceration rate is at 7.67 per 1,000 people,” said Commissioner Pafford. “The next nearest county is Smith County, and they incarcerate 5.41. Are we wanting to help people come out (of jail) and be productive citizens or is it just a place to put people to punish? It can operate as both,” said Pafford. “Should we think that just putting people in jail causes them to make better choices when they come out than they did before they went in? There are programs in which you can get grants and things for facilities that help support rehabilitation”.

Jim Hart, Jail Consultant and Field Manager of the County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) updated the jail committee in January on the county’s jail assessment and CTAS recommendations in a revised study. During his presentation, Hart talked about available resources to help reduce recidivism.

“Every inmate that comes into custody should be given a classification assessment which identifies the specific risks and needs,” said Hart. “The risks assessments include escape risks, violent and sexual predators, and others who are a danger or threat to the facility. The needs assessments include the mental health needs, elderly, advanced stages of pregnancy, etc. We try to house them according to those risks and needs to ensure the safety and security of everyone. You have a difficult time doing that in this particular facility because the nature of its design and the number of the inmates you have in custody,” explained Hart.

“In the last two years there has been so much money that has been filtered down to local counties to support evidenced based and job training programs. There is just a myriad of different programs and opportunities that exist to help try to get offenders something or some hope to help better get them released into the community and hopefully not to recidivate and come back into custody. You just don’t have the space or opportunity to provide for those type of services or programs in your particular facility,” explained Hart.

“Through a county corrections partnership or criminal justice coordinating committee, you could consider trying to implement a Stepping up Initiative, which is a national effort to reduce the number of people in jail with mental illnesses. Do you know how many people in your jail have been diagnosed with a serious mental illness? That might be something to know or something you could look at and what kind of resources could be provided to the jail or community to address those issues,” said Hart.

“There are tier one and tier two accreditation initiatives through the Tennessee Corrections Institute that looks at evidence-based programs, job training, staff development, partnerships with local community members and collaborations to address needs of those in custody inside the local jail. You could do a needs assessment and possibly use opioid abatement funding to support certain initiatives. The idea is to not just say that we have a jail overcrowding problem and need new jail construction but to address other opportunities and think about the whole system to better manage it,” said Hart.

March 3, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Its been seven months since the county was forced to cut the certifiable bed capacity of the DeKalb County Jail in half from 102 to 52 and since that time many prisoners have been relocated to other jails across the mid-state. And while the county continues to ponder what and where to build in terms of a new jail or judicial center, the costs to the county of sending these inmates off to other places continues to rise.

During last Tuesday night’s meeting, Sheriff Patrick Ray updated members of the jail committee on where these prisoners are going and how much it is costing to keep them there.

“We are right at if not over our budgeted line-item amount for (housing prisoners elsewhere) which not only includes this expense but other costs as well. We should be a little over 50% of budget but its at 100%,” said Sheriff Ray.

As of Tuesday, February 27, Sheriff Ray said that the DeKalb County Jail held a total of 50 inmates including 4 women and the females will have to go elsewhere. “Some of them are on no bond so we are trying to find them a place to go, and others are on medical watches in our holding facilities. Fourteen inmates are being housed elsewhere including the Robertson, White, Lincoln, Smith, Cannon, and Warren County jails and the DeBerry state facility,” said Sheriff Ray.

The breakdown is as follows:

*4 DeKalb County prisoners housed in the Robertson County Jail- $55 per day per prisoner

*1 prisoner in the White County Jail-$50 per day per prisoner

*2 prisoners in the Smith County Jail-$44 per day per prisoner

*2 prisoners in the Lincoln County Jail-$0

*1 prisoner in the Cannon County Jail-$0

*3 prisoners in the Warren County Jail-$41.00 per day per prisoner

*1 prisoner in DeBerry prison-$0. “This is a state facility where inmates not yet sentenced can be housed through a court order due to medical needs. This (local) inmate has a medical need that DeKalb County cannot take care of,” said Sheriff Ray.

“We have a total of 9 inmates out on (court ordered) ankle monitors and the county is paying for 2 of those. Judges are trying to get whoever we put the ankle monitors on to pay the daily fees for that which is $46.50 per person,” said Sheriff Ray.

“As of July 1, of this budget year (2023-24) we have spent $63,944 and all of that is for housing of inmates (elsewhere). We are paying $481 per day and on a 30-day month that is $14,430. We already have some other bills besides these,” he said.

“Some will be a month behind because of the billing but in August we spent $5,152 before TCI came and told us we had to reduce our bed count. We had already been housing some inmates outside the county because of the way our cell issues are in the jail,” explained Sheriff Ray. “We have no place to lock up just one inmate, or two inmates, or four inmates (that need to be segregated) because ours are dorm style holding cells from 10 to 46 beds. There is no place to put inmates that give us trouble or who might have some kind of medical issue that we need to separate from the others,” said Sheriff Ray.

“In September we spent $5,391 which is after we were forced to go down from our 102-bed count to 52”.

“For October, our costs were $8,940. November was $8,489. In December it was $12,401. January, we spent $16,819 and we have paid $6,751 so far out of January’s bills this month (February) and there are still some that have not yet been paid,” he said.

For the first time, the jail committee of the county commission last Tuesday night, February 27 was presented schematic site plan scenarios of what a judicial center might look like and how much it would cost.

John Eisenlau of Treanor Architects and Rick Bruining of Bell Construction unveiled options for a 150, 190, and 225 bed facility as requested by the jail committee in January. Based on the three options presented by Bell, the projected cost of judicial center construction ranges from $57,317,500 for a 150-bed jail (with no shell space for future expansion) to $70,317,500 for a 225-bed facility. The projected cost of the court complex alone is $11, 550,000 (included in each option’s overall total expense) and the estimated design services fees based on 6% of the construction value is $3,000,000. These numbers do not include whatever the cost may be to purchase property for the project, if necessary.

Although he was not at the meeting Tuesday night, the county’s fiscal agent Steve Bates, provided as requested information on the type of funding stream that would be needed to support the debt based on these options.

“Assuming that the net value of one cent of the property tax rate generates $61,450, the costs for a $57,315,000 project (for the 150-bed option) would require either a 59 cent (property tax increase) to amortize a $3,595,000 debt or a combination $50 wheel tax and 41 cent property tax increase,” wrote Bates.

If the county were to choose the $70,317, 500 option for a 225-bed facility, a 72-cent property tax hike would be needed to amortize a $4,410,000 debt or it could be funded through a $50 wheel tax and a 54-cent property tax increase, according to Bates.

Both single story and two-story building options were offered which include the jail and inmate housing facilities, three courtroom complex, sheriff’s administration building, and parking areas altogether consisting of 100,000 square feet on 13.5 acres. In each scenario, Eisenlau said the jail would house prisoners on the first floor with a second story mezzanine to house more inmates. In the second option, the entire complex would be a two-story structure. When asked about the difference in cost, Bruining said a single-story structure is usually about 12-15% more.

In addition to this information, County Mayor Matt Adcock announced that he has been in contact with another landowner, Jerry Dwayne Foster who has 57.59 acres near Allen’s Ferry Road behind Bizee Mart that he is willing to sell to the county at a price of $1.3 million. The property is currently not in the city limits but could possibly be annexed.

After learning how costly the project as presented would be, several county commissioners suggested that the architect and contractor take another look at the existing jail location and possibly come up with a phased renovation/expansion plan for that site, something the public might more likely embrace.

County Mayor Adcock said he would instruct the architect and contractor to do another study of the existing jail location although a previous one concluded that the site was perhaps too small and unsuitable for a rebuild or expansion.

Mayor Adcock said he also plans to schedule a town hall style meeting with the commission and Tennessee Corrections Institute (TCI) Deputy Director Bob Bass to engage the community and better enlighten the public on the issues and needs regarding the jail.

March 3, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Smithville Elementary is recognizing its Students of the Month for February. These students were selected for their outstanding character, academics, and other traits that make them an all-around excellent student.

Selected as Students of the Month for February are:

PreK- Waylon Sutton, Reece Gard

Kindergarten – Rhett Lack, Bella Camacho Godinez

1st Grade – Kinslee Gay, James Morgan

2nd Grade – Romina Aldino, Francesca Paz

The students are pictured with SES Principal Anita Puckett and SES Assistant Principal Karen France.

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