Page 16 - Flathead Beacon // 9.23.15

NEWS
FEATURE
Jail commander Jenny Root shows the facilities at the Flathead County jail.
GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
As County Seeks New Facility,
Law Enforcement Grapples With Crowded Jail Flathead County Detention Center has nearly twice the number of inmates it was built to hold
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
When the Flathead County Detention Center was built in 1985, it could hold 63 inmates. The jail, located in downtown Kalispell in the same facility as the district and justice courts and county attor- ney’s office, even had a library where those incarcerated could check out books or study.
Thirty years later, the library is relegated to a rolling cart of books. Bookshelves have been replaced with more beds. The inmate population has ballooned to more than 100 on most nights and Flat- head County Sheriff Chuck Curry says some offenders are released to make room for those deemed more dangerous.
“We do our best to keep the public safe, but the system isn’t working the way it should because we just don’t have the space,” Curry said last week while walking through the jail. “The jail isn’t falling apart. It’s just too small.”
Flathead County’s plight is common. According to a recent report by the American Civil Liberties Union, Montana’s jails are “locked in the past” and are “bearing the brunt of a broken criminal justice system.” The report, issued earlier this year, found that Yel- lowstone County Jail was built to hold approximately 285 inmates
“WE DO OUR BEST TO KEEP THE PUBLIC SAFE, BUT THE SYSTEM ISN’T WORKING THE WAY IT SHOULD BECAUSE WE JUST DON’T HAVE THE SPACE. THE JAIL ISN’T FALLING APART. IT’S JUST TOO SMALL.”
CHUCK CURRY, FLATHEAD COUNTY SHERIFF
but is often holding more than 400. In April of this year, there were 491 inmates in the Billings jail. The ACLU report placed much of the blame on shrinking budgets and a sluggish criminal justice sys- tem. According to the report, the average pre-trial detainment is anywhere from three to nine months. Some Montana inmates have been jailed up to two years while awaiting sentencing.
Because of limited jail space, many arrest warrants go unan- swered. Curry said there are approximately 3,800 people in Flat- head County with outstanding warrants — a number that does not include warrants issued by police departments in Kalispell, Colum- bia Falls and Whitefish.
Occasionally, Curry said, jail officials meet with judges and county attorneys to see what inmates can be released on their own recognizance or be put on house arrest in order to free up space. In other instances, offenders who need to serve jail time for lesser offenses avoid their punishment.
“A lot of these guys know they have warrants for their arrest, but they don’t care because they know there is no space for them in jail,” Curry said.
In one extreme example, in Lake County, where jail space is also at a minimum, a man charged with a handful of misdemeanors was
16
SEPTEMBER 23, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM