Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 12, 1995 TAG: 9502130011
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOE JACKSON LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Virginia's beleaguered sheriffs are quickly running out of patience with the state - and room to house inmates - according to a survey by The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star.
The Norfolk newspapers' survey of local and regional jails shows that one in five of the inmates they house should be in state prisons. Nearly two-thirds of the sheriffs who responded said they have sued, or may consider suing, the state to force removal of those inmates.
The backlog, which has hundreds of prisoners sleeping wall to wall on cell floors, has prompted seven sheriffs to file lawsuits. Among those responding to the survey, 14 more sheriffs said they are considering legal action to relieve the overcrowding.
Thirty-four sheriffs or jail administrators, who are custodians of 69 percent of Virginia's jail inmates, responded to the survey. Nearly all of the state's large, urban jails responded.
Sheriff Robert McCabe of Norfolk has been ordered to cut the population of his jail to 750 within two years or face a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice. The Norfolk Jail, built to hold 579 inmates, houses about 1,300.
The survey asked the state's sheriffs for their inmate population on Jan. 10, the rated capacity of their jails and the number of convicted felons they held awaiting transfer into the state prisons. Under state law, a felon sentenced to three years or more in prison must be moved from a local jail to a state prison within 60 days of being convicted.
Seventeen urban and 17 rural jails responded to the survey. Almost every sheriff said his or her jail was overcrowded, and all but three said the problem of overcrowding had worsened in the past year.
On average, the jails were 85 percent over the rated capacity - the number of prisoners the state mandates they can legally hold. An average of 19 percent of their total population consisted of inmates the sheriffs believed the state should house in its prisons.
``When local judges sentence individuals to jail or prison, the local sheriff has no option as to whether or not he or she will accept that person,'' wrote Campbell County Sheriff Robert Maxey in response to the survey.
``The sheriff must comply with the court's order. We cannot refuse to accept prisoners, as the Department of Corrections does. The Department of Corrections should not have that option, either.''
Several sheriffs said state prisons fail to abide by the same rules as jails.
``The Department of Corrections never takes the initiative to take an inmate,'' said Lee County Sheriff Robert Chadwell. ``It has taken them as long as 11/2 years to move an inmate, and then we would have to call them and complain several times before we could get the inmate moved.''
Hampton Sheriff B.J. Roberts, who filed suit Jan. 13 demanding that 108 state inmates be transferred, wrote: ``One only needs to walk through our jail, and see inmates sleeping on the floor and see that every space within the jail is being used for bed space, to know that this setting is a time bomb waiting to go off.''
A major problem for the jails ``is that state institutions stop taking inmates when all beds are full or they reach their rated capacity,'' wrote Capt. George Keyes, chief of corrections for the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. ``Jails do not have that option. Jails take everything brought in - we cannot say we're full or hang the `no vacancy' sign out.''
The overcrowding led seven urban jails to file suit against the state last month. The sheriffs of Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Hampton and Newport News sued in mid-January. On Jan. 30, the sheriffs in Richmond, Arlington County and Alexandria filed suit together in Richmond Circuit Court. Their lawsuit demanded that nearly 400 state prisoners be moved from the three jails to prisons and that newly sentenced felons be kept out of the jails.
The Richmond suit alleges that the number of state inmates in local and regional jails increased from 1,782 in September 1994 to 2,320 on Dec. 1. The Department of Corrections has said the number now is about 1,900.
Chesterfield County Sheriff Clarence Williams believes many of the suits are politically motivated. ``We have had this situation before,'' Williams said. ``I think [Department of Corrections chief Ronald] Angelone is doing more to relieve the stress than ever before. ... This is just a political opportunity to blame the overcrowding on the governor, [Attorney General Jim] Gilmore and Angelone.''
But Danville Sheriff James Dooley, a political independent, does not see the issue as a partisan one, despite charges by the Allen administration that the Democratic-controlled legislature has tried to gut efforts to fund new prisons.
Dooley said the city of Danville recently allowed him to transfer all female inmates to the Danville Adult Detention Center. He now presides over an all-male jail that still is slightly over capacity. The crowding will get worse, he said, especially with the state's new no-parole policy, which went into effect Jan. 1. ``Unless more prisons are built, the problem of overcrowding will not go away,'' he said. ``It's just common sense.''
The survey also showed differences in the conditions of urban and rural jails and in the intentions of their sheriffs. Urban jails, with greater inmate populations, averaged 188 percent over capacity. Nearly 18 percent of their inmates were state felons.
The rural jails, with smaller populations, averaged 148 percent over capacity. Yet nearly 30 percent of their inmates were state felons.
Nonetheless, rural sheriffs who responded to the survey showed a greater reluctance to sue the state than did urban sheriffs. Nine of the 17 rural jailers said they either were undecided or did not intend to file suit; the majority of urban jailers said they would consider suing or had sued.
Other rural jailers were cautious, anticipating problems within the year.
H. Vicki Huffman, superintendent of the Rockbridge Regional Jail and president of the Virginia Association of Regional Jail Superintendents, said she would consider suing ``if we were suddenly inundated.''
But because of the low crime rate in Rockbridge County, ``we'll be one of the last [jails] to feel'' the backlog, Huffman said.
Coming Monday: Why are Virginia's local jails so crowded with state prisoners? Corrections and government experts blame Virginia's Parole Board, the toughest in the nation.
Keywords:
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by CNB