YAKIMA – An outdated building design and overcrowding make it difficult for corrections officers to manage inmates at the Yakima County Jail, a recent report says. Nine inmates escaped earlier this month.
The 21-page report was prepared by two consultants for a group of King County cities that rents beds at the jail.
According to the report, nearly one assault a day takes place in the jail, largely a result of an outdated design that limits the ability of staff to control the problem. An average of 25.6 assaults a month occurred this year through September, and the figure was even higher in 2004, based on Yakima County jail records.
The report also described a culture of tension in the main jail with too much idle time for inmates, the presence of gangs and racial problems between Hispanic inmates from Yakima County and black inmates from King County.
Overcrowding hampers jail administrators’ ability to separate low-risk inmates from more serious offenders, the report said.
The main jail and its annex were built for 574 inmates but now hold about 800 inmates.
Nine inmates carried out the largest escape in the jail’s history on Nov. 25 by cutting through the ceiling of their fourth-floor housing unit. The inmates then kicked open a grated roof vent that jail officials thought had been made escape-proof following a similar event in 1994.
Five inmates were recaptured on jail grounds. Two more were apprehended the following day. Two other inmates remain at large.
Thirty-five King County cities entered into contracts to rent beds in Yakima County for a maximum of 440 misdemeanor offenders in August 2002. The agreement was amended to reduce the inmate numbers to 330 more than a year later.
Jail officials said there were 291 King County inmates in Yakima County custody earlier this week.
The King County cities asked the consultants to assess inmate safety and quality of medical care. The Nov. 16 report was prepared by a former King County jail administrator and an attorney with experience working with correctional agencies.
The report recommended that Yakima County actually open a new jail that was built to house contract inmates. The 288-bed jail cost $20.6 million to build, but the county has since said it will be too expensive to operate.
About 100 inmates have been transferred to the new jail for a trial period, after which it will be mothballed.
Yakima County Commissioner Mike Leita said opening the new jail on a permanent basis is not an option because of cost. He estimated filling the new jail with inmates from King County would increase operational costs by $1 million.
“It is a beautiful facility. It’s high-tech and state of the art. The issue is who is going to pay for it,” Leita said.
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