Mid-Missouri jails struggling with overcrowding, staffing

Some mid-Missouri county jails are feeling the pressure of overcrowding in their facilities.

Pulaski County Sheriff Ron Long said the county jail is seeing all-time high numbers of inmates, forcing the department to look elsewhere for inmate housing.

According to Long, on July 19, the jail in Waynesville had 90 inmates, about 25 more than the facility can comfortably house. When jail staff looked to neighboring counties, they learned the jails in those counties, as well as others throughout the state, were also full.

The Dixon Police Department is offering some relief by housing five inmates in its jail. Talks are currently underway to explore the possibility of Dixon police expanding their role in providing jail services, but Long describes this as “a small solution for a big problem.” He says sending inmates to other facilities is expensive and time-consuming for taxpayers in any county.

The Boone County Jail is also facing a similar situation. Capt. Keith Hoskins, the jail’s Detention Director, said inmate overcrowding is something the jail has been struggling with for the past 15 years.

“If you start overcrowding and your resources can’t handle the detainees you have in custody, they are going to start causing issues by either fighting the other detainees or fighting with the staff.”

Capt. Hoskins said the jail can house up to 187 inmates comfortably. He said the jail is currently housing 46 inmates in other county facilities across mid-Missouri.

“There are a lot of detention facilities in central Missouri that have limited bed space. We can go anywhere from Cooper, to Cole, to Howard, to Montgomery and we go as far to Chariton.”

Each county jail will charge a fee from $30 to $50 per day per inmate, plus the cost of transportation. Through June 2016, the Boone County Jail has spent around $200,000 to house inmates in other jails.

Not only is inmate overcrowding an issue, Capt. Hoskins said the jail currently has seven open positions.

“It would be a better operation if we had full staff, but we can still operate with our current staff.”

Other mid-Missouri jails are also experiencing a staffing shortage.

“Overcrowding isn’t a problem, but again when you start getting above 135 [inmates] it’s really making our people work down there,” said Capt. John Wheeler with the Cole County Sheriff’s Department.

Last week the Cole County Commission approved for three new positions at the jail.

Capt. Wheeler said the jail, which was built in 2011, has a maximum capacity of 206 inmates. The Cole County Jail often houses inmates from Boone County.

In Callaway County, Lt. Clay Chism said a staffing shortage is a bigger issue inside the jail than inmate overcrowding.

He said the jail is consistently down by 3-4 corrections officers. The Callaway County Jail has a maximum capacity of 109 inmates, but Lt. Chism said they try to keep it around 80 inmates inside the jail at a time.

He said the jail is constantly dealing with crowding in the female inmate pod. The area is intended to hold only 10 female inmates, but the jail usually has double that amount.

Lt. Chism said they haven’t had to contract out to other county jails to house inmates.