Further study is needed before addicted prisoners can be treated at the Salvation Army instead of at the Metro Jail, County Council members decided.
While county officials all applauded the idea of reducing inmate populations at the crowded jail by sending them to treatment, some County Council members and staff members for Mayor Nancy Workman said that similar proposals need to be considered as well. They also said that the actual costs need to be determined, as well as the ability of the sheriff to transfer prisoners to treatment facilities if they have been ordered by a judge to serve jail time.
David Marshall, Workman's chief administrative officer, said that the government needs to follow a specific process before agreeing to any contracts for service.
"You can't just pick an agency, even a great one, and say this is where the people should go," he said.
The Salvation Army offered its beds — as many as 60 of 108 beds could be empty by next month — to the county just over a week ago to help ease an expected prisoner crunch this summer. The idea has received support because it is an alternative to reopening Oxbow Jail, a $1 million annual price tag.
The County Council agreed to postpone any decision about the proposal until after a committee consisting of staff from the council, mayor and sheriff's offices can make a recommendation.
By studying the proposal and conducting a formal application process, Marshall suspected that a number of other treatment facilities would submit applications. Many treatment facilities have empty beds because of recent cuts to the state social services budget.
Another advantage to a formal application process could be that a number of different treatment options are presented, which would help reduce the population further.
"The jail isn't a bunch of people that we can just pick up and move," he said. "Oxbow was addressing a specific population — women — that is reaching maximum."
Councilman Steve Harmsen said contracting for a specific number of beds could be a problem because of fluctuations in the needs of the prisoners. However, he said that finding treatment options is a better option than turning away nonviolent drug and alcohol prisoners.
"If we are going to put people out on the street because there are no seats on the plane, we should get them help first," he said.
Councilman Jim Bradley said that they should consider the benefits of finding more treatment options and consider the reduced jail population an added bonus.
"I see this as an opportunity to manage the jail population," he said. "But the more important opportunity is to the chance to intervene in someone's life."
Sheriff Aaron Kennard, who has previously suggested reopening Oxbow if the the population exceed the maximum this summer, said that he fully supports finding other ways to keep the prisoners below maximum.
"If $500,000 goes to these guys instead of me, that would be great," he said.
E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com