By Aaron Vehling

To Chisago County administrator John Moosey, building a new jail and/or justice center ìisnít going to be cheap.î

ìIf we move forward with it, the cost will be in the millions,î he said.
But it will be necessary.

Moosey asserted that building a new jail will keep overall costs down because currently the county pays other counties to house inmates at a cost of as much as $750,000 a year.
To determine how to approach the prospect of a new jail, the county board hired the consulting firm of Liebert and Associates.

ìI really liked the Liebert group,î Moosey said. ìThey make their recommendations based upon statistics and history.î

Criminal justice policymakers, stakeholders, and officials from various forms of government gathered at the American Legion in North Branch last Wednesday to hear the results of the Chisago County justice system study conducted by the group.

David Bennett, Dan Wiley and Dennis Liebert took a sample of defendants booked into the county jail, from point of arrest to adjudication, in an effort to look at the current jail situation and to forecast future scenarios. Liebert pointed out problems with the current county jail, which has 37 secure beds and 30 minimum security beds. The average daily population in 2003 was 56 and in 2004 was 74 (with 41 in the county jail and the others out of the county), he said.

ìThis doesnít meet housing standards,î he said. ìYou shouldnít hold more than 47 people if you want to meet state standards.î

He said that Chisagoís jail is antiquated and is too small to accommodate the current class of inmates and keep up with the projected growth of the area. He said even though itís one of the nicest properties for a jail, thereís no ability to expand. The county would need a new site.

Liebert said because there are only three single-occupancy cells, the jail lacks adequate space to properly house maximum security inmates, individuals put on disciplinary segregation, those with mental health issues, inmates with medical problems and those prone to suicide attempts. He said that no more than 50 percent of medium security beds can be double-bunked, but currently that number is at 100 percent.

Liebert also took issue with the design of the jail. ìThe linear design allows no observation of inmates,î he said. He said the medical and booking rooms were too small.

Other problems: no pre-booking and interview rooms, no outdoor recreation area, only two non-contact booths, no attorney-client rooms, all laundry is sent out instead of processed on site and the kitchen is too small.
Other areas of concern were the small jail office, a lack of sprinklers in the older portion of the jail and some electronic security systems that he said needed an upgrade.

The justice system
Wiley, an ex-court administrator from Florida, presented his findings regarding Chisago Countyís justice system.

ìIt is important to look at the system as a whole, to understand growth requirements and space requirements that affect the judiciary,î he said.

He said that the growth projections indicate a 44.4 percent increase in the population of Chisago County by 2025, which would add about 20,000 people to the area. Related to that, the caseload would increase 57 percent by 2025 with dramatic increases in juvenile and criminal cases.

ìCaseload increases are a fundamental factor in influencing the need for judges,î Wiley said, adding that he projects increase of an average of 3.9 judges to 5.9 judges by 2025.
Wiley then offered an evaluation of the current courthouse.

He said that the courthouse has about 32,000 square feet of useable space, whereas the standard is along the lines of 54,000 square feet. ìThere is no secure space for criminals,î he said. ìThey enter courtrooms by going through judicial or public circulation.î This brought up security and prisoner management issues, he added.
He said that though the county does not have the worst courthouse in the country, things are getting crowded and will only get worse.

Wiley offered multiple ways the county could approach the issue: it could expand the existing facility on site, change the makeup of the existing courthouse by relocating some of the county functions or build a whole new justice center.

County commissioner Rick Olseen asked Wiley about the possibility of salvaging materials from the current courthouse for a new one. Wiley said that he has seen it done, but the county could have trouble with it. ìIt probably wouldnít work with what you have,î he said.

Paradigm shifts
Bennett, who has been a jail consultant for 27 years, said those involved in the countyís justice system need to undergo a ìparadigm shift,î in which they change the way they conduct business. He recommended the need for an adult drug court.

ìYou have one of Americaís premiere drug treatment centers in the county,î he said, referring to Hazelden.
Bennett also said that the county needs to be quicker about getting people through the system. ìIíd like to see an arrest-to-plea time of under 60 days,î he said. ìLetís get this done.î He added that heíd like to see in-custody defendants sentenced within 14 days and out-of-custody defendants sentenced in 21 days.

ìIn-custody defendants cost us more jail beds,î he said. ìI am equally concerned about people out of custody.î

The justice system study showed a high failure-to-appear rate for out-of-custody defendants, which he said could be a result of the county ìtaking so longî to process defendants.

Bennett compared current population statistics with forecasts for 2025. The average admissions rate for 2003 was 466 persons per population of 10,000 people in the county. For 2004 it was 472. The average length of stay in 2003 was 9.7 days and in 2004 was 11.1 days, he said.

One forecast showed that with an average length of stay for 10 days, the admissions rate could be as high as 550 per population of 10,000 people with an average daily population as high as 99.

Bennett showed two possibilities for the capacity of a new jail - either 199 or 150 beds - to accommodate the increase.

ìWhatever site is available we do need to design this facility for expansion, if necessary,î he said. ìOn the other side of the coin, we donít want to overbuild.î

Liebert said that the cost of per bed construction went up 12 percent because of the price of steal, concrete and wood.

Olseen said that heíd like for a new jail to be built to last.

ìBecause of the cost of production,î he said, ìIíd like to see the jail go until the bonds are paid off before expansion.î

Sheriff Todd Rivard expressed some concerns about the jail. ìThere are a lot of variables that make me nervous,î he said. ìIíd like to go at least 15 years out without having to build a new jail.

ìIíd rather err on the side of over-building than under."

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