I want to send this blog out to the people of Taylor County. Contrary to some information going around, there is no way it could be cheaper to house inmates out of your county. As most of you know, the Taylor County jail has been closed for several months due to extreme conditions in the jail. The wall is coming off the structure and is not safe.
The county has been driving their prisoners to neighboring counties to be held for them. The shortest drive being 21 miles away. One way. Doesn't sound like much, does it? Let's break down a few things and play with this and just see where it goes.
This is all purely example so don't take it verbatim.
*Taylor County has 3 inmates in Ringgold County jail.
*Taylor County has 2 inmates in Adams County jail.
*Taylor County has 1 inmate in Page County jail.
We will say that court is held on Monday morning, starting at 9am. On Monday morning, Sheriff Weed heads to Ringgold County, bright and early, to pick up the 3 inmates for court in Bedford (29 miles there and 29 back). When the Sheriff gets to the courthouse, more than likely he will need another Deputy to assist. You know, just in case "it goes bad." So Deputy Wyckoff comes out and assists at the courthouse.
At the same time, we have Chief Deputy Bucher on duty because well, someone has to be out, right? Someone HAS to be covering the county while everyone else is out retrieving inmates. Ok, we have Bucher covering the county. We are in safe hands, that is for sure.
About 9:30am, Deputy Peterson heads to Page County (21 miles there) to pick up that inmate. So now, Sheriff Weed and Deputy Wyckoff are in the county, as well as Deputy Bucher BUT they are pretty much stuck at the courthouse with their inmates. There isn't any place to hold them in case something goes really bad because well...their jail is closed. Deputy Bucher is still covering the whole county and now Deputy Lilly has come out to assist the local Bedford/rural areas.
3 officers tied up with inmates at this point while 2 are now covering the county. Ok, this is going well so far. By the time Deputy Peterson gets back to the courthouse with his inmate (21 miles), court is over for the first three that Sheriff Weed and Deputy Wyckoff were tending to, and the Sheriff is now headed back to Ringgold County (29 miles there and back).
Now, Deputy Bucher heads to Adams County (22 miles) to pick up those two inmates, to bring them to court (22 miles). The Sheriff is now on his way back to Bedford, to assist at court (29 miles).
Deputy Peterson is done in court and headed back to Page County (21 miles there and back). Deputy Bucher is in court and Deputy Couch has to come relieve him because of an ongoing investigation on another case. After court, Deputy Couch takes his subject to the jail house (in Bedford) because the inmate has someone there to post bond for him.
Deputy Lilly has just arrested someone and will be tied up with them and then will possibly have to transport to whatever facility they decide (21-29 miles there and back). Now he has been taken off "the beat" for a while and Deputy Couch will cover patrol as he has finished releasing his subject. Remember, Deputy Bucher is now working on an investigation and Deputy Lilly is with a subject. That puts them back down to one Deputy covering the whole county again. Still.....we're in good hands folks. We have Deputy Edwards at home, resting up just in case he has to come out early. -_-
Here's another scenario we should think about. No matter who is arrested and no matter what it is for, they have to see a Magistrate within the first 24 hours. So, Deputy Bucher, as part of his investigation, makes an arrest at 2am. And if that isn't inconvenient enough, our county Magistrate is out of town on vacation. His fill-in is the Page County Magistrate. It would work out perfect if they could take this subject to Page County and have it all done, wouldn't it?
It's not happening. In MY scenario, Page County Jail is FULL. To capacity. Now if THEY arrest anyone, that person will have to be shipped to someone else's jail. See how this works? So, no room in Page County so they take the subject to Adams County. Guess what. The next morning, one of the Taylor County Deputies has to make a trip to Corning (22 miles) to pick up the new arrestee and take them either to Bedford (22 miles) OR to Clarinda (35 miles) JUST to see the Magistrate. If bond is set, the person is taken to the Sheriff's Office (if Magistrate came to Bedford) or back to Bedford (if went to Clarinda). If bond is NOT set or that person cannot post bond, back to Adams County (22-35 miles) they go. And then the Deputy heads back to Taylor County.
Going back a little bit to where the Page County Jail is full. How many times do you think they are going to take their own inmates to another jail before raising their prices for their inconvenience? Not long at all!
Another thing that I think is very important is the people that are taking care of the inmates. There are a lot of locals that come through their own jails. (A little further down the page, I explain "Otis" to you.) Once I spent about 20 minutes in jail. Yep, that's right. I was arrested for not paying a speeding ticket. And it was in Lees Summit, MO. Guess what? I didn't know a soul there and they didn't give one tick's tat who I was or where I came from; if I was cold or if I was hungry. They processed me...and several others...as if we were cattle. Experience tells me that I would rather have someone I know, giving me my meals; giving me my meds; doing my laundry. Because the ones that don't know me, dont' give a crap if my coffee is cold, my pudding is hot or if there's a nasty stain on my jumpsuit. I want locals taking care of me. Not strangers!
Now...there is a slim chance it is ever going to happen just like this but I guess if the stars align just right, it could happen. I hope I got everybody back to where they were supposed to be -_- We don't need any loose inmates running around!
The miles alone are outrageous just to get the inmates to their court dates. Now, let's think about how much gas is costing the county. *ching ching* Gas is currently going down but we all know how long that will last. And we all know how long it has been extremely high. Next things we can take into consideration is tires, oil changes, routine maintenance. We all know how cheap it is on OUR vehicles, right? *ching ching*
Have you heard about the deer population in southwest Iowa? Yeah, even police vehicles hit deer. So if that happens, sometimes a vehicle is out of commission for a little while. How many instances do you suppose it takes before the county's insurance premiums get raised? *ching ching*
Did you remember the overtime some Deputies may get because of having to cover on their off-time while other Deputies go out of county to retrieve inmates? How about the overtime some Deputies may get because of having to go get their inmates? Overtime, overtime, overtime. * ching ching* I don't know how they could do it without paying some overtime. The time involved in transports is consuming and wearisome at best.
I will just assume you know that these other counties don't house our inmates for free. Some charge up to $55 per day. PER DAY PER INMATE. If you have 3 inmates and it's $55 per day, that is a cost of $165 PER DAY!!! And I don't know what these counties charge. I just know what my jail charges and what some others charge that we have had to use in the past. $55 is the highest I have seen but I'm sure it goes higher. And prices don't seem to be going down these days. Debt ceiling raises and our dollar turns into toilet paper. Now imagine if these 3 inmates are in for 30 days each. That is $4950 JUST in daily charges to house 3 of them. *ching ching* How stupid does that sound??? It doesn't take an economics major to figure this stuff out!
Winter is coming right up. We have snow storms. We have ice storms. Weather delays everyone all the time. Even the Police. We can ALL be victims to the weather on a normal snowy/icy day. Why take unnecessary risks??
The last thing I am going to mention is the safety. You know, cops are people, just like you and me. Yes, they get to carry a gun and a taser but they are people. They bleed like you and I. How far would YOU like to ride with someone who is anxious and just wants to run? How are you going to control a vehicle, while keeping one or two inmates from interfering with the one that is anxious and is trying to get your gun? And guess what, there are patches of black ice here and there. Scary, huh?
And speaking of safety! Remember when I joked above about having all my people back where they belonged? Well that brings me to another point! Remember that manhunt that happened in Bedford? How often do you want to go through THAT??? Safety is a key issue when it comes to transporting. I just can't say it enough folks!!
Would you want your wife/husband/son/daughter to be the one driving someone that is a safety risk? Because EVERY PERSON is a safety risk. That's right. Statistics show that the return customers, whom I like to refer to as "Otis," are high risk as well because we deal with them on what seems like, a daily basis (as in Mayberry's own Otis), so we get comfortable around them. This is probably why I don't trust a soul; and I'm not even a cop.
No person is safe when it comes to my jail and my facility. There isn't anybody that is to be trusted. I have seen too many videos and read too many stories where inmates hide weapons where you wouldn't think they could; take a chance to wreck a vehicle in hopes of being able to run once they roll...not giving a damn what happens to that officer.
Taylor County is a beautiful place to live. Wonderful people there. Matter of fact, that's where I grew up so yeah, I like that county. What do you think happens when we send our money to bordering counties? What happens when we give them the revenue? WE boost their county revenue. WE pay more in vehicle maintenance and upkeep. WE put our officer's lives and the public at large, at risk by transporting up to several times a day. WE fill THEIR jails so that they have to keep expanding. This is our Executive branch of Government on a smaller scale.
In my opinion, there is an agenda and it isn't a good one. Not that my opinion is always the right opinion but in this case,VOTING YES IS A WIN-WIN FOR TAYLOR COUNTY.
Sit down and go over figures. Look at nothing but the numbers first. Then the other stuff. If you are from Taylor County, please spread the word. Talk about this. This not only affects the future of your county but the trickle-down effect really concerns your community and revenue.
Taylor County needs their own jail. While I'm not fond at all of the location they have picked, at least the Supervisors are ready to put it to vote. If you are from Taylor County, think long and hard about this bond issue. It's a no-brainer but make sure you are confident with your choice; your decision. Talk it up with your neighbors; co-workers; children; everyone.
It's time to be vigilant Taylor County. It really is up to you!
Until next time.....thanks for reading!!
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