CAMPUS/AREA
Wednesday, June 9.1993
7
Overcrowding in jail a growing problem
By Carlos Tejada
Kansan staff writer
The Douglas County jail has more prisoners than it can house, and its living conditions may spark a lawsuit, some county officials said.
The jail, located at the Law Enforcement Center, 11th and Massachusetts streets, is built for 50 prisoners but currently houses 76 prisoners. Sheriff Loren Anderson said. Twenty-one of Douglas county's prisoners are housed in jails in Franklin, Jackson, Chase, and Brown counties at a cost of $30 to $42 for a prisoner a day.
"It's quite an expense," Anderson said.
Anderson said the number of prisoners grew during the late 1980s, but the number of prisoners reached its height last February, when the jail had to house about 100 inmates. The number has since decreased, but overcrowding remains a problem, he said.
Anderson said Lawrence's growth rate was the reason for the increase in incarcerations.
He also blamed the county's proximity to Topeka and Kansas City for the increased rate.
"Criminal activities are centered on both sides of us," he said.
The problem will get worse after July 1, said Craig Weinung, county administrator. On that day, state laws will go into effect setting guidelines for sentencing for judges. He said judgments told him the guidelines would force them to send more convicts to jail.
"The judges are going to have much less flexibility," Weimang said.
The overcrowding problem drew the attention of the National Institute for Corrections, which recommended the county build a minimum security prison for prisoners on the work-release program. However, state law keeps county commissions from spending money over a certain limit, Weinaug said.
A motion before the county commission would exempt the jail from the ban on spending increases for the 1995 budget. However, Weinaug said he did
the point.
"We're a long way from even coming close to that bridge, much less cross it," he said.
not know where the money would come from
Weinaug said the Douglas County Corrections Commission, a group that includes himself and Anderson, has met regularly with architects and contractors about projected costs for a new jail.
Meanwhile, the overcrowding will continue, sau Lt. Bill Shepard, jail administrator. He said the prisoners complain on a daily basis.
"Eventually, there will probably be a lawsuit," he said.
Shepard said the large numbers were partially due to the county's work-release program, in which prisoners leave during the day to go to work.
"They just use it as a bed and breakfast," he said. He said home arrest is an alternative, but county citizens probably would not like the idea.
"The citizens of Douglas County feel if somebody commits a crime, they should be in jail and not at home," he said.
Tom Leininger / KANSAN
Begging to be heard
John Whitmer, San Francisco senior, and Sarah Brooks-Moss, Hill City graduate, offer credit card applications and magazine subscriptions to a passer hv. The two distributed the items yesterday along Jayhawk Boulevard.
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