As the county continues its search for a possible location for a proposed Jail/Judicial Center, the cost is mounting to the DeKalb Sheriff’s Department, which is having to pay to house some prisoners in other area jails. Four months since the DeKalb Jail’s certifiable bed capacity was cut in half, from 102 to 52 the county is absorbing the bill for not only housing the prisoners, but also transportation to and from the facilities.
On Thursday, December 21, Sheriff Patrick Ray addressed the county commission during its Meeting of the Whole. There, Sheriff Ray detailed the number of inmates housed in other facilities and the daily cost and roundtrip mileage to each facility.
“We are a little bit over on our bed count,” said Sheriff Ray. “We are housing inmates in DeBerry, which is a state facility for somebody who has medical problems. We have them in Robertson, White, Hamilton, Van Buren, Smith and Warren County. Until a jail is constructed, we don’t have any cells here now where we can put just one or two inmates in. Our smallest cell is 10 inmates, so we have to do some moving (prisoners) around. We don’t house anybody here that has murder charges or anything like that or someone who is an escape risk,” said Sheriff Ray.
Sheriff Ray told the commission that since September the county has paid $39,923 to house prisoners, with $451 still not paid. He said that this is 75.17 percent of the $60,000 budgeted since July 1, 2023.
“With that and all the bills we already have (September, October and November), we should be today at 46.15% of budget. We don’t have December’s bills yet. With that and other expenses we are at 75.17% of the $60,000 budgeted for this and it will eventually go over budget. Other expenses that have to be paid from this line item include maintenance for appliances, plumbing costs, etc,” said Sheriff Ray.
In a report by Sheriff Ray, he stated that as of December 20, 2023, 58 men and three women are housed at the DeKalb County Jail, while nine men and nine women are housed in other jails (DeBerry, Robertson, White, Hamilton, Van Buren, Smith and Warren County).
Sheriff Ray reported the daily cost for each prisoner, and the round-trip mileage to transport an inmate to the jail and to and from court dates. Mileage is estimated at 65 cents per mile.
“This is us carrying an inmate to wherever we are carrying them, and it can be multiple times for court. We have to take them to court and then bring them back. If they later bond out, we have to get them again because they have to bond out through our jail. They can’t bond out through another jail,” said Sheriff Ray.
The report indicated the following:
· 6 males in Robertson County Jail- $55.40 per day, 184 miles round trip
· 2 females and 1 male in White County Jail- $50 per day, 42 miles round trip
· 1 female in Smith County Jail-$44 per day, 68 miles round trip
· 3 females in Lincoln County Jail- No charge (by agreement), 164 miles round trip
· 1 female in Hamilton County Jail- No charge (by agreement), 196 miles round trip
· 1 male in Van Buren County Jail- (Charge to be determined), 68 miles round trip
· 2 females and 1 male in Warren County Jail- No charge (by agreement), 42 miles round trip
· 1 male in Deberry- No charge (state facility)
Sheriff Ray also reported that the court has increased the use of ankle monitoring, but that cost the county as well, with costs at $7 per day.
“We had nine prisoners on ankle monitors yesterday (Wednesday). The judge is trying to make the defendants pay for them, but that costs comes back to the county if the inmate pulls off and damages the ankle monitor or throws it away. That cost is $400 for every one that we lose,” said Ray.
The report stated that since January 1, 2023, a total of 1,132 people has been booked into the DeKalb County Jail, with 569 booked since July 1, 2023.
Though the county has voted to move forward with a proposed Judicial Center, the design of the facility, and more importantly the location of the center has yet to be determined. County Mayor Matt Adcock told the commission that one location on Bright Hill Road is being looked into. The property belongs to the family of the late James Ed Rice.
Other sites for the center are also being looked into.
