The pandemic and justice reform in charge of keeping inmate numbers low

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  • Population in prisons around Oklahoma are down.
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A sampling of county jail populations in Oklahoma shows the COVID-19 pandemic and criminal justice reform is keeping the number of inmates down.

Comanche County is an anomaly with its extreme overcrowding and pandemic issues. The Detention Center has a maximum population of 283 but has continually exceeded the limit in a county of 122,561 residents.

The jail population on Saturday, May 30 was 164 after 148 inmates were transferred to other detention facilities.

Sheriffs in other counties, however, claim the pandemic and criminal justice reforms passed by Oklahoma voters in 2016 have kept the inmate numbers low.

For instance, Canadian County has 194 beds, but the inmate population typically is 130 to 140, according to Sheriff Chris West.

“We really started going down with the number of inmates after (State Question) 780 and (State Question) 781 passed. Those measures changed about 60 felonies to misdemeanors.”

Before the reform questions passed, the Canadian County jail held more than 300 inmates, West said. Canadian County has a population of 136,710 and the eastern part of the county is considered one of the fastest growing areas in Oklahoma.

In Stephens County, Sheriff Wayne McKinney said the jail numbers are slightly higher than he wants with 174 current inmates. The facility has 162 beds.

“That’s not unusual,” he said. “We’re clearing up more cases and the COVID-19 virus has the courts shut down, so people are not bonding out. That’s pretty much normal throughout the state.”

Part of the high inmate level is attributed to about a dozen inmates awaiting transfer to various prisons in Oklahoma, McKinney said.

“Hopefully, that will change soon,” he said.

McKinney also suspects some of the increase can be attributed to a hike in domestic abuse cases with residents being restricted to their homes.

“There’s been an uptick in assaults and disturbance calls since the shelter-in-place orders were given, and summer is always a busier time for us with more burglaries as people go on vacation,” the sheriff said.

In Caddo County, Sheriff Spencer Davis has 87 inmates incarcerated with a maximum capacity for 284. Typically, the jail will hold 100 to 150 people.

Because of the pandemic, a district judge ordered the sheriff to release about 50 nonviolent offenders.

“It won’t be long before we get back to normal,” Davis said. “There’s several jails in the area knocking populations down.”

So far, there have not been any reports of Caddo County inmates having COVID-19.

Meanwhile, 699 prisoners are being held at the Grady County Law Enforcement Center. In addition to holding the county’s offenders, the center also functions as a transfer station for federal inmates.

The maximum capacity is 780, according to Warden Jim Gerlach. County inmates currently total 116, which is down from the 160 that were housed there before the pandemic hit. Low-risk inmates have been released, including those with minor offenses such as failure to appear and cost warrants.

Thirteen inmates and 14 staff members at the transfer center have been diagnosed with the virus. One officer remains out and one inmate is still positive with COVID-19, Gerlach said.

“This pandemic is historic,” he said. “Cleaning practices should have been in place before COVID. I implemented all of the CDC guidelines, but an over-response can be damaging itself.

“We need a calm and collective behavior, and not overly stressing. There’s always something that will challenge us as administrators.”

Gerlach has been a Corrections official through a variety of disasters including 7.2 earthquakes in California, the Swine Flu and the H1N1 flu.

“If you panic, you can’t think clearly,” he said. “You need to read the best guidelines and work within those. You do the best you can. Lower the numbers, clean the best you can, but don’t panic to the point that you’re indecisive.”

Gerlach also noted that corrections facilities were not the first organizations to receive the required masks and cleaning supplies.

In Logan County, the inmate figure stands at 137 as of Saturday, May 30, according to Sheriff Damon Devereaux. The maximum capacity is 198 prisoners.

Typically, the jail holds 135-145 inmates, the sheriff said.

Devereaux said the usual inmate level dropped significantly after voters passed SQ 780 and SQ 781 in 2016. The measure was implemented in 2017.

COVID-19 did not play a major role in the inmate figure since the sheriff and his deputies “took pretty quick action” early on with a quarantine pod. No virus cases have been reported at the jail.

“We’ve been fairly lucky,” the sheriff said. “This is a fairly rural county so we’re easily practicing social distancing up here. Even as a county, we didn’t have a large number of cases.”

Any inmate is medically screened at the sheriff’s sally port, which is a controlled entryway. If anyone shows symptoms of the virus, they are taken to a hospital for testing and additional evaluations, Devereaux said.