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| Jail returns to old booking system |
| By The News-Leader |
| Published: 06/09/2006 |
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GREENE COUNTY, MO - Less than a week after the change had been announced, plans have been dropped for municipal law enforcement officers to help book inmates at the Greene County Jail. Sheriff Jack Merritt said he learned it took officers much too long to insert the required data into an unfamiliar DOS-based computer system. "I didn't realize it would be that burdensome," Merritt said on Thursday, a day after he released agencies that hold inmates at the jail from having to follow the new requirements. Merritt had requested that effective June 1 agencies holding inmates at the jail fingerprint their own suspects along with performing other pre-booking duties. The intent was to free up booking staff and allow them to help in other areas at the overcrowded jail, but area law enforcement officials said the measure took officers off the street too long. Springfield Police Chief Lynn Rowe said that as long as a booking officer supervised the process, there were no problems. It's when they walked away that Rowe said difficulties arose, defeating the purpose of officers being at the jail in the first place. "The more they did it the less time it took, but it wasn't inconceivable that they could easily spend 45 minutes or more just trying to get someone booked," Rowe said. "That's under the assumption there are no other distractions." Fingerprinting had yet to be instituted, but on Wednesday officers had already resumed filling out handwritten forms as opposed to computerized ones detailing basic information including the name and charging information of the inmate. Merritt said a $593,000 technology grant allowing the purchase and setup of a records management system may help in the future. But that system is about a year out. Bids haven't been awarded. Merritt said that when the jail was built in 2001, there were plans to have computers for officers to insert information upon arrival, but no plan was ever initiated. "We should have done this the first day," he said. Rowe, who last week had argued the sheriff's move was in direct violation of a 1997 agreement with Greene County that the county book inmates, said it was inappropriate for his officers to be placed in a booking role. However, Rowe said he remained committed to helping out with efforts for reductions in the jail population. "It isn't just Jack's problem, the city of Springfield's problem it's everyone's problem," Rowe said of overcrowding at the jail. "It's a very high-volume, high-stress operation and it's getting worse by the day," Rowe said. |
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