Sullivan County jail, meant to hold 619, could soon surpass 800 inmates

BLOUNTVILLE — Sullivan County's jail facilities are certified to hold 619 inmates. On Wednesday they held 734, most of which (about 500) were inmates awaiting trial on felony charges.Sheriff Wayne Anderson and his staff shared those and other figures with an ad hoc committee tasked with making a recommendation to the Sullivan County Commission on how to deal with perpetual overcrowding at the jail. The county must solve the problem in order to retain the jail's certification and avoid potential lawsuits.Committee Chairman Wally Boyd said the group should be able to complete its task within the next few months.In the past 18 months or so, the committee has received a study of current facilities, projections of what is needed to keep the jail from being overcrowded in coming years, and is awaiting an evaluation of the condition of existing structures and suggestions on how they could potentially be renovated or used in an expansion.Boyd reminded the committee that earlier studies projected the county ultimately needs about 24,000 square feet of space just to hold inmates — not including hallways, kitchens, laundry rooms and other components of a jail. Boyd said the studies also showed the current main jail is inadequate in multiple areas, including its public lobby, booking area, kitchen (about one-third the size needed), laundry (about half the size needed), and medical facilities.Anderson said about 25 percent of current inmates need mental health care, while about 60 percent require some level of medical treatment. Eight inmates were on suicide watch.The number of inmates that are awaiting trial on felony charges is significant because few, if any, options are available other than keeping them in the main jail. Another key problem is the increase in recent years of female offenders in general. The jail is certified to house 146 females. On Wednesday, it housed 200.Of the 734 inmates in the jail and its annex on Wednesday, about 30 were post-conviction state inmates awaiting transfer to a state facility. If there's a bad side to having that few state inmates, it's that it will mean a drop in revenue for the county.That's because the state pays the county for housing post-conviction state inmates. As the county has pressed to transfer such inmates out of the county in recent months as the jail's population swelled far above even its "normal" crowded levels, such payments have likely fallen below the number projected in this year's county budget. Revenue from the state for such inmates typically generates as much as $1.5 million per year toward overhead at the jail. At this rate, the committee was told, the revenue will be less than normal this year.Boyd said that at County Mayor Richard Venable's request, he's reached out to local judges to see if there are any additional options for alternative sentencing to help reduce overcrowding at the jail.Sheriff's staff said currently there are seven offenders fitted with ankle bracelets serving time at their homes, but that program isn't going to help solve the county's biggest inmate problem — the high number of inmates awaiting trial on felony charges.A majority of those felony cases are in some way drug-related, Anderson said — a problem which also seems to account for the large number of female inmates.The 734 figure is probably a record for this time of year, Anderson and others said, noting the jail usually sees an uptick of 100 or so inmates in May or June. If that holds true this year, on top of this early increase, the jail could soon top more than 800 inmates.The Tennessee Corrections Institute inspected the jail in January and granted its certification for 2017, sheriff's staff said, but the overcrowding issue continues to be a red flag threatening that status. The TCI has given Sullivan County a temporary pass of sorts on the overcrowding issue due to the fact that the ad hoc committee has been working to resolve the issue. It means the county has "plan of action" status, as long as a good faith effort toward solving the problem is evident.Anderson suggested and Body agreed the group should visit some newer jail facilities in the region. Boyd said he hopes to conclude those visits within the next six weeks. A likely list of facilities to visit includes Washington County's, Blount County's and the regional jail in Duffield.