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| Embattled Wash. County Jail Director Moves On |
| By Seattle Times |
| Published: 04/24/2003 |
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Snohomish County Corrections Department Director Andrea Bynum is no longer working for the county, officials announced last week. They would not say whether she had been fired or had resigned. Bynum has been under close scrutiny in recent weeks because of a string of problems at the overcrowded jail. County Public Safety Manager Susan Neely would not comment about whether Bynum's leaving had to do with the incidents at the jail. The Everett Police Department is conducting six separate investigations into incidents at or involving the jail. These include $10,000 in missing bail money, two inmate deaths and allegations of an inappropriate relationship between a female jail employee and a female inmate. In October, Everett police launched an investigation into a jail cook accused of fondling and having sex with jail inmates. County Executive Bob Drewel's office did an investigation and found that the cook's mother - a high-ranking official at the jail - had a hand in the early investigations of the case. In internal jail documents, Bynum insisted that the official had 'absolutely' no involvement in the investigation. Those problems came as the jail was trying to cope with serious overcrowding. The building was designed for 250 inmates, but later double-bunked to accommodate 477. Currently, the jail routinely holds 600 to 700 inmates. A county press release acknowledged that the number of inmates in the county increased during Bynum's five-year tenure. The release also said Bynum was instrumental in bringing the county's new, expanded jail to the construction phase. That jail will be completed by 2005. Bynum was hired by the county in 1998. She had already moved out of her office on April 15 and couldn't be immediately reached for comment. |
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