Aggressive enforcement crunches jail space

FALLS CITY – Richardson County commissioners agreed Tuesday to pursue an architect’s cost estimate for expansion to a new jail that was opened in 2016.

The 1900s-era jail on the top floor of the county courthouse could hold a half dozen inmates, so the county expected to have room to house inmates from other jurisdictions when it opened the new $4 million jail with beds for 24.

The county opened the jail with an average census of about seven inmates per day, but it is now consistently full at around 22.

Commissioner Rick Karas said the county needs to expand its jail capacity.

Karas: “All these jails down, well, all over the state of Nebraska, are getting full, so housing is a big issue.”

He said it is expensive for the county to house inmates elsewhere and to transport inmates to facilities three hours away back and forth for court dates.

 
Karas: “Our sheriff’s office is very aggressive and they are arresting anywhere from 45 to 52 people a month. When you’ve only got 24 beds, you run out of room pretty quick.”

Sheriff Rick Hardesty said commissioners are considering a proposal to add 40 beds over the next two years.

Hardesty: “We’re hoping to get enough beds where we can actually house state inmates or federal inmates, plus other counties, to generate revenue to help pay for the addition to the jail.”

He said the increase in county inmates is due to proactive law enforcement.

Hardesty: “We’re not going to slow down by any means, so we’ve been talking with the commissioners about maybe adding some bed space.”

Karas said the county board is supportive of the sheriff.

Karas: “He is doing an outstanding job, all of them there, it’s just fabulous what they are doing.”

 He said the support of the people of the county is the most important thing because any new facility will belong to them.