Sheriff Makes Case to Close Juvenile Detention Center
Curry said that female inmates would be put in juvenile space to address jail overcrowding
By Justin Franz
Sheriff Chuck Curry appeared before the Flathead County Commission on Wednesday to make his case to close the Juvenile Detention Center in Kalispell in order to make more room for adult inmates.
The sheriff proposed sending juvenile inmates to Missoula to free up 14 additional beds for adult inmates in the overcrowded Flathead County Detention Center. The commission will formally vote on the measure on Nov. 2.
During the Wednesday morning commission meeting, Curry said while the current jail was built to hold about 60 inmates, it often must hold more than 100 every night and recently hit 119 inmates.
“This is not a permanent closure of the juvenile facility. Once we have a long-term solution to our overcrowding problem then we should reopen the juvenile facility because it is good to have these kids in the community, but we’re at crisis levels in the adult detention center,” Curry said. “We just don’t have enough space to keep truly dangerous people locked up.”
In the past, jail officials have worked with district court judges and the county attorney’s office to release low-risk adult prisoners. Curry said on two recent occasions, inmates released on a Friday were back in the jail before the end of the weekend. One had stolen multiple cars during the few days he was free.
Curry said the Flathead County jail traditionally housed a mixture of people accused of or convicted of misdemeanor and felony crimes. In August, when there were 108 inmates in the detention center, 106 were charged with felonies.
Until recently, Flathead County was looking to buy the former WalMart in Evergreen and converting that into a jail, but in September another party offered more money for the building.
Curry said there are currently four juvenile inmates being held in Kalispell and that if the commission approves the closure they would be moved to Missoula. He said he has tentatively made a deal with the juvenile detention center in Missoula to hold Flathead inmates at a reduced rate of $200 a day per inmate for the first two and then $170 a day for each inmate after that. Once the juveniles are moved out, adult females would be moved in, freeing up more space in the primary jail.
“This is a Band-Aid and maybe it’s not a perfect solution, but it’s the only one I’ve got right now,” Curry told the commission.
Commissioner Phil Mitchell reluctantly voiced support for the idea.
“This is a hard decision for me but the fact is we are overcrowded,” Mitchell said.