County Jail

[jerrywall]

Get Whetsel out and i think more people will be willing to vote for it. Why allow someone that's so bad at his job to make any decisions on a new facility?

Really? I'm not a Whesel fan, but I don't get the feeling there's a consensus that he's bad. People seem to like him for some reason.

[Jeepnokc]

Really? I'm not a Whesel fan, but I don't get the feeling there's a consensus that he's bad. People seem to like him for some reason.

I like Whetsel but it is taking 24-36 hours to process someone in and out of the jail. That is ridiculous. Used to take 4 -6 hours. You get arrested Saturday night and you may not make it to work on Monday. The lawsuits for abuse and medical neglect are bothersome also. The processing and jail are understaffed which I understand budget cuts but not when you have deputies out patrolling the same streets that are already protected by municipal and state law enforcement. The problem is that the alternative isn't too attractive either either.

[LakeEffect]

Really? I'm not a Whetsel fan, but I don't get the feeling there's a consensus that he's bad. People seem to like him for some reason.

People aren't really focused on him, so he gets away with things...? I don't like his opponent's tactics in this campaign, so it's a tough vote.

Personally, I don't understand why the Sheriff's Office has such an arsenal of operational machinery, when the unincorporated area that the County handles is only 128 square miles (total county is 720 square miles). There are 20 incorporated areas in the County, and the majority of those have their own police forces as well... He parades that machinery around in a show of force, and the jail sits neglected...

[jerrywall]

Personally, I don't understand why the Sheriff's Office has such an arsenal of operational machinery, when the unincorporated area that the County handles is only 128 square miles (total county is 720 square miles). There are 20 incorporated areas in the County, and the majority of those have their own police forces as well... He parades that machinery around in a show of force, and the jail sits neglected...

This is exactly my problem. Every time I see his ridiculous parade of equipment in the Edmond 4th of July Parade I just fume. I know most of the vehicles say "donated" on them, but it still seems ludicrous.

[MagzOK]

Not here to argue for or against, but from what I understand the vehicles are purchased and spruced up with drug money and federal grants in return for drug scores that is for that type of stuff.

[jerrywall]

Audit report on sheriff's office came out today -

http://www.news9.com/story/33416778/...ffice-released

Approximately $900,000 was spent on the purchase of Sheriff vehicles during a time when other obligations of the Sheriff’s Office were not being met.

[Spartan]

The county administration has a long, proud history of wanton corruption, with its banner years being in the 1980s, rescinding after the county commissioners scandal, and now I do believe Whetsel has brought that culture back.

The obvious solution is to merge the city and county govt, enhancing and streamlining accountability as well as resources for the functions carried on by both - especially where there is overlap (basically anything the county does).

The short-term solution is to vote Whetsel out, even if that means voting for another Republican. I have real concerns about why a Republican wants to be county sheriff and how he would pursue non-violent poor offenders, but it can't be any worse than a 6th term for Whetsel.

It's not that nobody has called Whetsel out for these things over the years. The Gazette has done a fine job IMO, and kudos to David Prater for the high standard he brings to the judge and demands of his side of the justice system. Prater is the second best politician in Oklahoma, after Mick Cornett.

[bombermwc]

People aren't really focused on him, so he gets away with things...? I don't like his opponent's tactics in this campaign, so it's a tough vote.

Personally, I don't understand why the Sheriff's Office has such an arsenal of operational machinery, when the unincorporated area that the County handles is only 128 square miles (total county is 720 square miles). There are 20 incorporated areas in the County, and the majority of those have their own police forces as well... He parades that machinery around in a show of force, and the jail sits neglected...

Big one for me too. He purchases all this crap on bonds or grants, but that doesn't pay for maintenance, fuel, etc and it's equipment that the municipalities do NOT need. Talk about the militarization of the police force, look no further. Because we totally need a freaking armored personnel carrier.

Another one for me, STAY OUT OF THE CITIES! His job is to patrol UNincorporated areas, yet we see them more often in the cities than where they are supposed to be.

Given the above statement, the force is too large on patrol for 128 miles of rural area. You simply do NOT need as much force for rural areas and if he would stick to that, we would have more funding for things like the jail.

The management of the jail and all of the processes in there is a very big item too. As mentioned, he's caused crowding because of the inefficiencies in operations. Again, it's not staffed properly because we have so much funding taken up by patrol officers running around in town. Hell, i see more county sherrif patrol cars on the highways than i see OHP!!!!

I think the only reason he hasn't been ousted yet is because the opponents always seem to be worse than him. I'm not sure that this year is any better.

I think we might be better off by merging the patrols and having the county contract those patrols out to the closest municipality. MWC/OKC/Moore/etc. There is an immediate efficiency in consolidating the administrative side as well as the physical assets like vehicles/buildings/etc. Adding a couple of officers to those cities spreads the cost out too. Tinker did that with their EMS services, contracting out to Midwest Regional years ago. It only takes 2 units to cover the whole base, just like it did with Tinker airmen doing it. But they get better coverage when a unit is on a call because others from the MRMC fleet can back-cover from having the larger fleet to pull from. Same thing here.

Step one though, get the existing administration gone so things can start over.

[jerrywall]

I've always wondered why the OKCPD doesn't maintain their own jail facilities...

[rezman]

Canadian County does the same thing. They like to bring out all their toys as a show of force. This year, they had 2 brand new Victory Police bikes added to the mix, but was unable to get a good shot of them. That stuff just pisses me off.

[Spartan]

I've always wondered why the OKCPD doesn't maintain their own jail facilities...

Judicial functions do make more sense at the county level, however, that can also be consolidated with a city govt.

Logan County could take Edmond and Lincoln County could take MWC. Nichols Hills, Village, Bethany, etc could just be unincorporated or autonomous areas like Belle Meade in Nashville Metro Government's footprint.

[bombermwc]

I believe they do have some limited facilities like any other suburb has in town. The intent is to hold for very short stuff. anything more than 12 hours is probably sent off to county.

[BBatesokc]

From News OK (9/14/2017) - OKC Police Chief: "We're just putting fewer people in jail."

This effort to keep the jail census low is getting out of hand. Over and over again I see people being granted low bond or no bond (O.R.) releases - even in violation of our own laws.

I'm not talking about non-violent offenders.

Recent example:

Shaquan Shananae Miles, 23, was recently charged with the Human Trafficking of a minor from out of state. Her co-defendant pleaded guilty fairly early on and was sentenced to 16-years in prison (combined with other active cases).

Upon her original arrest, Miles was assigned a bond of $50,000. That amount was then raised to $200,000 at arraignment.

At Miles' preliminary hearing (she waived it) her bond was lowered to $0 (O.R. bond).

A month later Miles failed to appear in court and a warrant was issued. Miles was arrested on that warrant and went before the judge who gave her an O.R. bond.

Miles was then released again, this time on a $100 bond.

At the time of her arrest, Miles was on probation for a 2012 conviction for aggravated assault and battery. Miles is also charged in Comanche County for violation of the Mary Rippy Violent Crimes Registration Act.

Human Trafficking is considered a violent crime and requires a convicted offender to serve at least 85% of the sentence. How does the system justify this?

Furthermore, Oklahoma law doesn't allow for anyone charged with Human Trafficking to be released on anything less than a $15,000 bond.
From OSCN: Okla. Statutes Citationized, Title 22, Chapter 19 - "Bail, by sufficient sureties, may be admitted upon all arrests for violations of Sections 1028, 1029, 1030, or 1081 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes and shall be in an amount of not less than Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00). Bail on personal recognizance bond for such offenses shall not be admitted."

This is not an isolated case.

[PlaschkeSucks]

I like Whetsel but it is taking 24-36 hours to process someone in and out of the jail. That is ridiculous. Used to take 4 -6 hours. You get arrested Saturday night and you may not make it to work on Monday. The lawsuits for abuse and medical neglect are bothersome also. The processing and jail are understaffed which I understand budget cuts but not when you have deputies out patrolling the same streets that are already protected by municipal and state law enforcement. The problem is that the alternative isn't too attractive either either.

Whetsel is/was a crook as is the whole Sheriff's department. Taylor isn't any better but not as bad.

[hoya]

Taylor isn't any better but not as bad.

Politics aside, these two statements are mutually exclusive.

[bombermwc]

My understanding from someone that worked at the jail is that Taylor was more responsible for the issues at the jail than Whetsel beacuse Taylor was the one doing the operations there. So we really need to see who's doing ops at the jail now to see what they're doing. Also, assuming Taylor doesn't but all the stupid crap toys and stops patrolling in the cities, then maybe they'll have funding to send to the jail rather than on maintaining equipment that sits 99.9% of the time or duplicating coverage in the city/burbs.

[Plutonic Panda]

I don’t have access to this article(I’ll probably buy a sub soon) but the headline seems encouraging.

https://journalrecord.com/2019/01/08...commissioners/

[Plutonic Panda]

It looks like the Sheriff's office will no longer be in charge of running this jail. I am highly critical of Whetsel but I haven't really kept with Taylor so I am not sure if this is a good thing or if Taylor wasn't given a chance. Either way changes are obviously needed so I'm leaning towards this being a good thing. A new jail is the best outcome and hopefully it isn't placed way out in the sticks. It needs to stay close to the core and accessible to more services and transit for those released and its workers.

I have noticed a change in the patrolling of freeways and less traffic stops from the Sheriffs. I am not a fan of the new paint job as it makes the patrol cars more inconspicuous which should NOT be the case, IMO.

Oklahoma County Sheriff P.D. Taylor sat tight-lipped in his seat at the far left end of the Oklahoma County commissioner’s conference table, waiting to call out his vote.

Taylor, sheriff since 2017, had just given an emphatic speech about improvements his office made at the county jail and his desire for the Oklahoma County Jail Trust to let him keep running the operation.

Things didn’t go his way.

Taylor listened as six trustees voted "yes" to hire an outside administrator to run the jail. He was one of only two "no" votes.

“I really thought I could prove myself by doing a good job,” Taylor said days after the Aug. 19 vote. “That is where I was probably incorrect.”

Two years of targeted reforms were not enough to curb the power of a 28-year tidal wave of public frustration, costly lawsuits, inmate deaths, mismanagement and political scandal.

- https://oklahoman.com/article/564012...ffs-management

[hoya]

PD Taylor is John Whetsel Part 2.

[Plutonic Panda]

^^^ disappointing if that is the case but not surprising.

[Hollywood]

I wonder what those in Deer Creek will be thinking when it comes to law enforcement protection. For several years Whetsel made sure those in DC were covered, now I just don’t see how the SO can truly sustain adequate field operations to truly patrol areas.

Got to be some residents thinking thst annexing into Edmond (keeping their existing fire dept, schools, and water service) may be the better long term move...

[BoulderSooner]

I wonder what those in Deer Creek will be thinking when it comes to law enforcement protection. For several years Whetsel made sure those in DC were covered, now I just don’t see how the SO can truly sustain adequate field operations to truly patrol areas.

Got to be some residents thinking thst annexing into Edmond (keeping their existing fire dept, schools, and water service) may be the better long term move...

this will free up more reasources for patrols

[BBatesokc]

Not surprising. The jail is a complete mess, it's far more dangerous than most any part of the metro, the staff is frustrated unhappy and has a terrible reputation in the minds of the public (some well deserved). We needed more change than simply putting the #2 man in charge after Whetsel left.

[CloudDeckMedia]

I wonder what those in Deer Creek will be thinking when it comes to law enforcement protection. For several years Whetsel made sure those in DC were covered, now I just don’t see how the SO can truly sustain adequate field operations to truly patrol areas.

Got to be some residents thinking thst annexing into Edmond (keeping their existing fire dept, schools, and water service) may be the better long term move...

Patrols & jail are two completely separate functions of OCSO.

[The Shadow]

Not surprising. The jail is a complete mess, it's far more dangerous than most any part of the metro, the staff is frustrated unhappy and has a terrible reputation in the minds of the public (some well deserved). We needed more change than simply putting the #2 man in charge after Whetsel left.

Not to mention, the number of years he was the #2 man in charge.