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| County Gets Warning with Jail Variance |
| By Albany Times Union |
| Published: 07/28/2003 |
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Rensselaer County, N.Y., received the last in a six-year string of six-month variances Tuesday allowing the cramped county jail to double-bunk inmates. But the continued leniency from the State Commission of Corrections came with the warning that officials must now expand the 267-bed facility or spend millions farming out prisoners to other locations once the variance is pulled. 'The bottom line is, we don't have a choice,' County Sheriff Dan Keating said Tuesday, after meeting with state officials in Albany to discuss the estimated $10 million project. County officials have been actively exploring plans to add about 100 cells to the 12-year-old facility since May, when a pair of experts from the National Institute of Corrections said more space is needed. County Democrats were pleased with Tuesday's state extension but said time and money would be better spent seeking cheaper program alternatives to reduce the number of inmates before considering new construction. 'This allows us to proceed thoughtfully, as I'd proposed, so we don't jump to spend money before we explore the alternatives,' said legislative Minority Leader Bill Dedrick, citing the up-to-$20 million deficit County Executive Kathy Jimino already is predicting in the 2004 budget. But Keating and Jimino said all alternatives, including work and pre-trial release programs, day reporting and drug courts have already been pressed into service and still the numbers rise. 'There aren't any other alternatives to incarceration we could employ that would reduce the inmate population,' Jimino added. 'And while I would prefer the status quo -- double-bunking inmates and farming others out -- the Commission of Corrections is saying that just isn't an option.' The current variance allows officials to double-bunk prisoners in cells that measure 88 square feet, although 100 square feet is required to house them legally. Rensselaer County spends $85 to $90 a night for each inmate it sends to another facility, averaging between 50 and 60 inmates each day for a total of close to $1 million a year. Republican county legislator Thomas Walsh Sr. attended Tuesday's meeting. 'Unfortunately, a decision was made about 1991 not to build a third wing,' added Walsh, who is chairman of the Legislature's Public Safety Committee. 'And now, we are paying for that decision.' He said the county's inmate population is up because of increases in crime, an influx of criminals from other areas, and the state's failure to remove inmates in a timely way to state prisons. |
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