THIS PAST WEEKEND’S RECORD LEVEL WAS DOZENS BEYOND MAXIMUM CAPACITY, BROUGHT FACILITY TO BORDERLINE ‘BREAKING POINT’;
BUT STILL HIGH NUMBERS REMAIN, EVEN WITH SOME SLOW DOWN IN ARRESTS, AND MORE BAIL BOND GRANTS IN THE LAST FEW DAYS IN THE AREA.
JUST OVER 1,070 CRIMINAL INDIVIDUAL ARRESTS BOOKED AT THE JAIL SINCE JANUARY 1, OF WHICH AROUND 370 ARRESTS SINCE MARCH 1.
MARCH 31, 2017 – written by WADE QUEEN
A peculiar statistical numerical comparison from this past weekend.
On late Saturday night, March 25, at the Pike County Detention Center in Pikeville, Kentucky; a facility built and designed to hold a maximum inmate capacity of 400 inmates, there were 350 inmates booked in that jail that night.
On that same night at the same time, at the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center in Paintsville, Kentucky; that facility was built and designed to hold a maximum inmate capacity of 225 inmates, there were 288 inmates booked in that jail that night.
In percentage terms, the Pike County Detention Center was at 85% full capacity, while the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center was at 129% full capacity.
The BSRDC has been over capacity at various number levels for the vast majority of the past 6 to 7 weeks. Jail officials have complained more than once to the various county law enforcement agencies that use the jail to tamper down arrests for a few days of duration, so that they can try to bring down the inmate count with potential bonds. That has been the case again this week, as arrest numbers in the local Big Sandy area in the last several days have been lower than usual when compared to the past 2 or 3 months. When compared to throughout last year, the BSRDC inmate daily count would be usually at around either side of 200 inmates.
But with the jail in the last several weeks being at mostly double digit percentage beyond maximum capacity, officials at the jail are growing more concerned that the staff is nearing the edge of being overburdened, or even a critical ‘breaking point’, as well as running out of room to house inmates, with the already current population being incarcerated together like sardines in a can, there is a reasonable concern that there maybe a serious security incident before long.
Even with the most recent arrest slowdown, along the judicial process to get bail for those subjects who are eligible after they get brought in, the number of inmates currently at the BSRDC is still high, whereas at 8 A.M. Friday morning, March 31, there were 277 individual inmates booked at the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center.
There have been just over 1,070 individual detainee arrests booked at the jail since January 1, of which around 370 have occurred since March 1.
The recent high incarceration numbers are likely have been caused by a combination of reasons. The number one most likely reason: the very unusual warm winter weather, which led to an above normal increase level of police activity, as well as criminals and wanted individuals, leading to higher than normal arrests.
Number two: our judges have been granting less bond newly booked inmates than they usually have done in the past.
Number 3: Inmates who are given bond cannot post bail due to the amount being higher than normal, they can not afford any bail, or reportedly bail bond agents have become more reluctant to give out money to inmates or their families/friends to due the uptick in bail jumping lately.
Number four: A large number of people who have been caught in the last several months on minor and moderate charges are pleading guilty to said charges, and are serving guilty plea jail sentences that are scheduled for various personal convenience, many of whom have to make repeated trips to serve their days at piecemeal paces.
It will remain to be seen how things will continue to unfold and play out with the conditions at the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center in the near future. while the latest downturn in arrests may have been tempered by the rainy weather in the last week and a half, and the latest forecasts showing a a combination rain and sunny weather with some cool thru normal and to some above average temperatures for the next 10 days, it will be interesting to see what level of police arrest activity will be.
The detainee numbers usually spike the most on weekends Friday night thru Monday morning, and with this weekend is said to be reportedly dry and being from daytime both days from mid 50s to upper 60s, once again the inmates at the jail may find themselves miserably stacked together like firewood, cases of beer, coin change in a jar or piggy bank, or any other similar analogy you may like to use.
