Minnehaha County, S.D., is getting a tougher kind of inmate who costs more to keep and can't be put out on work release, causing jail officials to seek other prisoners to help pay the bills.
"The numbers are tracking, but the makeup of the prisoner is changing," Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead said. "We have more people in jail on offenses that don't qualify for work release. They are taking up minimum and maximum security beds."
An increase in methamphetamine use in recent years is bumping up the number of inmates who committed violent crimes and need more restricted incarceration.
There are several drawbacks to that trend, according to county officials. It costs taxpayers more to house prisoners in a maximum security facility. Inmates who can't leave the jail might lose their jobs and ability to support themselves or their families. And the transition to normal life is more difficult for those coming out of maximum security, Milstead said.
Higher costs have prompted the county to find work-release prisoners who can help fill the program at the County Corrections Center for a fee - and federal prisoners, who bring more money to the downtown jail. A new sobriety program frees up spots for money-generating inmates by allowing more DWI offenders to live at home.
When the new jail was proposed in 1998 for construction in 1999, a consultant projected that Minnehaha County would have 399 prisoners by 2005. An actual count from July shows there were 511 prisoners housed at the county's two facilities.
But Milstead said that doesn't point to overcrowding - rather the efficient use of the $17.5 million downtown facility and work-release center.
"We are full by choice. We could certainly turn people away (from other counties and the federal government)," Milstead said. "Our goal is to house many federal and out-of-county inmates to keep our jail as full as possible without overcrowding it. That revenue helps with some of the expenses of our new jail."
The jail budget for 2005 is $7.8 million. But the county expects to take in $4 million from contracts for inmates from other counties and the federal government, and also from what's paid by inmates.
A sentenced inmate housed in the downtown jail is charged $10 a day for his or her stay. Work-release inmates from Minnehaha County pay $26 a day, and work-release inmates from other jurisdictions pay $31 a day.
The goal is to keep the downtown jail population at or below 380 inmates, Milstead said. Any more, and the jail couldn't handle peak times of multiple arrests, such as on weekends, when those arrested are kept until Monday court appearances and bond.
The sheriff said it's difficult to predict what the future holds because many factors affect jail numbers. The overall crime rate, drug use and changes in law can increase or decrease inmates, he said.
If the trend holds or increases, it will mean the county cannot as easily shift inmates to the County Corrections Center, a less secure facility, and that will place increased pressure on the downtown jail.