County Jail

[traxx]

I heard once that the warden threw a party in the county jail.

[Plutonic Panda]

Oklahoma County Jail Pipe Problem Leads To Flood - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |

[Plutonic Panda]

Oklahoma County Jail Flooded Again - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |

[Tigerguy]

Starting to sound like some of those foreign jails you see on those hour-long TV documentaries on NatGeo.

[kevinpate]

from the linked article:
- Back in December, 2014, more than 21 gallons of water flooded the first floor.

I presume that is a typo as that is not much water at all ... about 5 mop buckets worth.

[bombermwc]

Lets get a developer on this, because you know the downtown committee will recommend demo'ing the jail...you know, before there's even a plan for the site.

[turnpup]

Lets get a developer on this, because you know the downtown committee will recommend demo'ing the jail...you know, before there's even a plan for the site.

That'd be a demolition I wouldn't mind at all.

[metro]

Lets get a developer on this, because you know the downtown committee will recommend demo'ing the jail...you know, before there's even a plan for the site.

LOL, no kidding and probably from an intentional toilet flooding from an inmate. Newsflash: Experts predict we will have cold days this winter!

[warreng88]

From the JR:

Corrections officials detail overcrowding, underfunding

By: Anya Alvarez The Journal Record January 9, 2015

OKLAHOMA CITY – People who work in Oklahoma’s prison system worry about understaffing and overpopulation. They discussed their concerns Thursday at an Oklahoma Board of Corrections meeting as they prepared to ask for larger state appropriations next year.

Laura Pitman, a division manager in the prison system, said prisons are filled to 116-percent capacity, and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections has only 67-percent funding to pay for staff.

Jerry Massie, DOC public information officer, said part of the understaffing problem is due to lack of funding, but it’s also difficult to retain employees.

“We do have a hard time keeping employees because the hours are demanding, and of course pay is part of the issue,” he said. “We don’t have the funds to pay higher wages. Especially in the more rural areas, many people leave working for the prison to work for oil fields instead. The oil boom really hurt us because we simply can’t compete with what oil companies pay.”

The average correctional officer in Oklahoma makes about $26,000 per year, Massie said.

He also said the mental health problem in Oklahoma affects the number of inmates. The state ranks second in the nation in mental health illness, and studies have shown those with severe mental illnesses are three to four more times likely to commit a violent crime, according to Dr. Jeffrey Swanson, a professor of psychiatry at Duke University.

Currently, 13,689 inmates in Oklahoma, almost 48 percent, are serving for violent offenses. The other 14,938 inmates are serving time for nonviolent crimes. According to a nationwide Bureau of Justice study, 52.4 percent of prisoners in state prisons in 2008 were in for violent crimes.

“The DOC works closely with the Department of Mental Health,” Massie said.

He said the Re-Entry Intensive Care Coordination Program, implemented by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, is designed to work with offenders with serious mental illness before they are discharged, then work with them until they are fully participating in appropriate care services.

Fourteen of the 77 counties in the state run mental health courts. They are an effective tool to help save the state money in the prison system, a recent study done by the ODMHSAS found. The DOC said about 12,600 offenders in the prison system have mental health needs. Fifty-seven percent of those inmates were incarcerated for nonviolent crimes.

Mental health court programs could potentially save the state millions if invested in properly. The average annual cost of housing an inmate with a mental health need is $23,000, while the average annual cost for a participant in mental health court is $5,400. This could potentially save the state $17,600 per year for each participant.

Mental health court programs not only save money when it comes to housing an inmate, they also help decrease jail stays, improve unemployment rates, and decrease inpatient hospitalization days, all of which lead to more savings for the state.

The DOC proposed that legislators provide funds for pay raises in fiscal year 2016. The DOC requested $555 million, compared to $471 million it received for FY 2015.

[Laramie]

Oklahoma needs more revenue streams to fund the needs of the Criminal Justice System's incarceration of inmates with mental disabilities. Now would be the time to legalize marijuana for medical and recreational use; you could use a portion of these funds to address those deficiencies

[ljbab728]

From the JR:

Corrections officials detail overcrowding, underfunding

By: Anya Alvarez The Journal Record January 9, 2015

OKLAHOMA CITY – People who work in Oklahoma’s prison system worry about understaffing and overpopulation. They discussed their concerns Thursday at an Oklahoma Board of Corrections meeting as they prepared to ask for larger state appropriations next year.

Laura Pitman, a division manager in the prison system, said prisons are filled to 116-percent capacity, and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections has only 67-percent funding to pay for staff.

Jerry Massie, DOC public information officer, said part of the understaffing problem is due to lack of funding, but it’s also difficult to retain employees.

“We do have a hard time keeping employees because the hours are demanding, and of course pay is part of the issue,” he said. “We don’t have the funds to pay higher wages. Especially in the more rural areas, many people leave working for the prison to work for oil fields instead. The oil boom really hurt us because we simply can’t compete with what oil companies pay.”

The average correctional officer in Oklahoma makes about $26,000 per year, Massie said.

He also said the mental health problem in Oklahoma affects the number of inmates. The state ranks second in the nation in mental health illness, and studies have shown those with severe mental illnesses are three to four more times likely to commit a violent crime, according to Dr. Jeffrey Swanson, a professor of psychiatry at Duke University.

Currently, 13,689 inmates in Oklahoma, almost 48 percent, are serving for violent offenses. The other 14,938 inmates are serving time for nonviolent crimes. According to a nationwide Bureau of Justice study, 52.4 percent of prisoners in state prisons in 2008 were in for violent crimes.

“The DOC works closely with the Department of Mental Health,” Massie said.

He said the Re-Entry Intensive Care Coordination Program, implemented by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, is designed to work with offenders with serious mental illness before they are discharged, then work with them until they are fully participating in appropriate care services.

Fourteen of the 77 counties in the state run mental health courts. They are an effective tool to help save the state money in the prison system, a recent study done by the ODMHSAS found. The DOC said about 12,600 offenders in the prison system have mental health needs. Fifty-seven percent of those inmates were incarcerated for nonviolent crimes.

Mental health court programs could potentially save the state millions if invested in properly. The average annual cost of housing an inmate with a mental health need is $23,000, while the average annual cost for a participant in mental health court is $5,400. This could potentially save the state $17,600 per year for each participant.

Mental health court programs not only save money when it comes to housing an inmate, they also help decrease jail stays, improve unemployment rates, and decrease inpatient hospitalization days, all of which lead to more savings for the state.

The DOC proposed that legislators provide funds for pay raises in fiscal year 2016. The DOC requested $555 million, compared to $471 million it received for FY 2015.

That's very interesting but does it have any relation to the county jail other than being about correctional facilities?

[jccouger]

The worst jail in America - Business Insider

[Achilleslastand]

Did the jail make the changes the DOJ ordered 5 years ago?

[kevinpate]

IIRC, the jail has met about all the modifications they can meet, short of building a new one

[turnpup]

Are most large cities' county jails part of their downtown skylines? I didn't live in the state when it was built, so don't remember if there was any controversy over its location or height. If not, was it because downtown was still in such a slump at the time?

[ljbab728]

This doesn't mean this will happen, but nevertheless.

Study committee recommends building new Oklahoma County jail | News OK

[Spartan]

This project is for a county government that has always been corrupt and inept. It's also a county govt that shouldn't even exist anymore but I digress...

Until that situation is solved, this shouldn't (and prob won't) get funded.

[Rover]

Why does congress have abysmally low approval ratings but everyone loves and re-elects their own congressman?

[ljbab728]

From KFOR:

County committee recommends building new Oklahoma County jail | KFOR.com

From here, the recommendation goes to county commissioners, who could decide whether or not to put this measure on the ballot in the Fall.

[Dubya61]

This project is for a county government that has always been corrupt and inept. It's also a county govt that shouldn't even exist anymore but I digress...

Until that situation is solved, this shouldn't (and prob won't) get funded.

Hey, Spartan.
For the purposes of this question, let's ignore corruption and ineptitude (I think they're symptoms of the county's useless appendage status to OKC). Let's make you king for a (few) day(s). What would you do about the county? Lump it and the city together? Merge the metro counties so they can function as a county, again? Make it a subordinate municipal entity to the city? I'm not baiting you -- just curious.
Now let's make you a (favorably viewed) municipal muse to the OKC City Council. What would you recommend they do with the county?

[ChrisHayes]

Build a new jail and sherriff's office away from downtown and give the old building to the wrecking ball!

[Pete]

That property is now relatively valuable.

They could raise some of the needed money by selling it and building somewhere cheap.

[bombermwc]

Very true Pete. I'd like to see the County Offices/Courthouse move out of downtown or at least into some new digs as well.

We're very past due on needing the new jail. Regardless of what happened, the residents of the county got screwed over when we built the place and we have no recourse in that now. The construction and design firms are gone (can't imagine why huh...remember they also did Plaza Towers Elem., which was found to have been built counter to the architect's design...such as not filling the cinderblocks...I digress). So we need to move on, and unfortunately, the citizens are going to have to pay the price for this. Remember though, if you live in OK county in any way, regardless of what city you live in, your police force use this jail for anything more than short holdings. So everyone does get use out of the place. The way we've been treating inmates has been counterproductive for 50 years. They're coming out more hardened and more ready to commit even more violent crimes than when they went in. Hopefully, the new design will allow for some actual reform to take place rather than just putting people in a hole with free food/board/etc with plenty of time to think about the people they hate.

Much like the gas tax....it's something we need, but no one wants to think past their immediate needs to pay for it. And also remember, if we don't vote to approve it, then the feds are going to come in and fine us for as long as we aren't in compliance. And THAT will cost even more than this plan.

[Urbanized]

I haven't paid that much attention to this lately, but if that is the recommendation that tax seems incredibly high. I understand that this would just encompass Oklahoma County and that MAPS taxes are within the City limits, which fall into other counties, but I would still suspect the numbers would not be too far off. Considering inflation, seems fair to assume that a new county-wide sales tax would have similar results to the City-wide MAPS tax passed in 2009, expected to earn roughly $100 million per year.

So if we go with that, we are being told that it is going to cost HALF A BILLION DOLLARS to build the jail, and more than $50 million per year to operate it? That's more that TWICE what we have in the Chesapeake Arena, including NBA upgrades AND the practice facility.

[Spartan]

Hey, Spartan.
For the purposes of this question, let's ignore corruption and ineptitude (I think they're symptoms of the county's useless appendage status to OKC). Let's make you king for a (few) day(s). What would you do about the county? Lump it and the city together? Merge the metro counties so they can function as a county, again? Make it a subordinate municipal entity to the city? I'm not baiting you -- just curious.
Now let's make you a (favorably viewed) municipal muse to the OKC City Council. What would you recommend they do with the county?

I helped lobby for the Greater OKC Chamber proposal to allow for city home rule, which would allow municipal corporations to develop their own system of government. This would allow Pawhuska County to maintain Pawhuska County the way God intended it to be (which I can only assume is the way it is), while allowing Oklahoma and Tulsa counties to form a combined city-county government. This has been done successful with Nashville, Louisville, Indianapolis, KCK, Miami FL, and countless other places. Perhaps instead of absorbing the county, you form a system like STL City and STL County. Conversely, many highly urbanized areas are actually comprised of mostly unincorporated areas within a strong county, ie. Arlington County, VA, Westchester County, NY, or Orange County, CA. The point being that you can have it many different ways, but you need a consolidated local government.

The backwards Oklahoma system really only works when it takes an entire day to travel by carriage from one end to the county to the other. In the 80s, the Oklahoma county commissioners pulled off one of the most incredible corruption rackets in U.S. history, Oklahoma County has always been a nice little cesspool of corruption in contrast to the more-visible city government, and to this day it is merely the political connections of the county commissioners that are preventing any updates to the legal framework.