Pima County Jail is overcrowded. Officials say new facilities are needed for people arrested in mental health crises.
But that's not likely to happen anytime soon. County officials on Tuesday called in additional consultants and a work group to assess the balance between easing jail congestion through construction of new facilities and the goal of reducing the jail population.
January report The Pima County Adult Detention Blue Ribbon Commission, which evaluated the need for a new jail, found that the jail now holds 769 more people than it was originally built for. Much of the overcrowding was in mental health units, according to the report.
“Prison facilities are increasingly being used as mental health care providers,” the report states. “Sheriffs have said many times that people with mental health issues should not be remanded to jail.…The reality is that they continue to accept inmates like this. Capacity restoration services are provided in-house.”
In 2023, health care providers at the Pima County Detention Center conducted an average of 393 mental health evaluations each month, according to the commission's report. Out of an average of 1,799 inmates per day, an average of 631 were taking “mental health medications.”
From 2022 to September 2023, 39 people died in prison or shortly after release, according to Pima County Medical Examiner's Office records.
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Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos Last year, he said, his facility was in a “full-blown crisis” with “life-threatening levels” due to overcrowding and understaffing. Although the Blue Ribbon Commission determined improvements and changes are needed, the jail is not in “crisis mode,” County Commissioner Jan Lescher said in a statement. February 13th memo.
Lesher this week proposed increasing funding for the Correctional Health Services Contract, which provides dental, medical and behavioral health services to inmates. She said overcrowding was occurring in the detox treatment, medical and mental health sectors.
Lesher also proposed forming a new committee with criminal justice officials to consider ways to reduce prison bed capacity. Advocates and experts have criticized the commission for not addressing the issue.
Commissioners said they were not tasked with addressing prison diversions or ways to reduce the population.
The recommendations submitted to the County Board of Supervisors are based on the board's findings from the report. It also made several other recommendations, ranging from building improvements to creating a dedicated funding source for facility maintenance and capital improvements.
The commission notes that aging prisons are plagued by breakdowns and deferred maintenance of key systems, such as cast-iron waste piping systems, with many repairs being reactive rather than preventative. He pointed out that it was.
“Addressing prison conditions is not just about addressing the physical facilities themselves; modernizing them so they can promote public safety in addition to rehabilitation, cost reduction, and reintegration into the community. A multi-pronged strategy is needed to achieve this goal,'' Lescher said, reflecting on the committee's findings.
County officials are divided on future course of action
While most supervisors supported the county administrator's recommendations, Supervisor Steve Christie criticized the need for more commissions and investigations.
“Now we are going to do the proverbial big job, with more committees, more research, and more community volunteer time to find out what the original committee should have been working on.” I intend to,” Christie said.
Superintendent Matt Heinz reiterated the need to address the underlying conditions that are causing the prison population growth before addressing other issues.
“There are too many people in prison, especially too many black and brown people in prison,” Heinz said, adding that the issue of overpopulation and systemic issues must be addressed before addressing other prison issues. He pointed out that this needs to be addressed.
Heinz said the county was able to reduce its jail population by 18% between 2013 and 2019 with the help of the grant. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. He also noted that the population has declined during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said it would be much easier to address the problems identified in the Blue Ribbon Commission's report if prison populations were reduced.
Supervisor Adelita Grijalva said she supports including community groups in discussions about prisons and addressing systemic issues in criminal justice. But Grijalva also said she needs more information before she supports increasing the budget for correctional health services.
“We don't want to automatically increase funding for correctional health services until we have a clear understanding of how the funds that are already allocated are being utilized, because 21% of the entire county budget goes to the sheriff's department. , 41% including all.''Legal Services. “
Lesher said staff will come back to the board with more details on the recommendations.
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Here's where to contact the reporter: sarah.lapidus@gannett.com.
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