Inmate populations in rural jails like Greene County continue to increase, while big cities and more populous metropolitan areas are seeing inmate counts drop as other sentencing options take the place of cells.
Officials in the the local judiciary and law enforcement have taken notice. They point to a lack of local resources to treat drug offenders who commit many of the offenses and the need for local facilities to address that need.
A study analyzing jail populations released Dec. 19 by the Vera Institute of Justice found the nation’s local jails “are a huge and consequential component of mass incarceration. Most people in jail have not been convicted of the crime they’re charged with, and many are only behind bars because they can’t afford to pay bail,” a news release about the “People in Jails in 2019” report says.
It adds others “are being detained on civil, not criminal, matters, such as unpaid child support, fines and fees, or immigration charges.”
“While our nation has made strides reducing the national prison population — a bipartisan effort — the number of people in jail, by contrast, is on the rise,” the Vera Institute release continues.
The report found clear national trends. Big cities like Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia are seeing reduced jail populations, “but over the last several years, rural counties and smaller cities have been sending more people to jail, driving an increase in the nation’s total jail population.”
The situation amounts to a “growing incarceration crisis in smaller cities and rural counties and reveals the urgent need to address mass incarceration everywhere,” the report said.
The New York-based Vera Institute of Justice is “a justice reform agent” that advocates for jail reform, reduced use of jails and research “that inspires change in the systems people rely upon for safety and justice.”
INCARCERATION ON INCREASE
Key findings of the People in Jails in 2019 report include:
- Jail incarceration has been rising nationally since 2015. At midyear 2019, there were an estimated 758,400 people in local jails, up 13,200 people — a 1.8 percent increase — from midyear 2017, the most recent available federal data.
- The total is the largest number since midyear 2009, and a total increase of 31,000 people since the recent low in 2015, a 4.3 percent increase.
- Between 2013 and 2019, jail populations grew 27 percent in rural counties and 7 percent in small and mid-sized metropolitan areas. During the same period, jail populations declined 18 percent in large urban counties and are down 1 percent in the surrounding suburban counties.
- As a result of the diverging trends, rural counties’ jail incarceration rates were more than double those of urban counties by mid-year 2019.
Vera’s Jail Population Project automatically updates a database of jail populations for hundreds of counties across the country using software that takes jail data and standardizes it into a format that enables information integration and data comparison across jails, the release said.
OPIOID, METH EPIDEMICSKenneth Bailey Jr., Greene County General Sessions and Juvenile courts judge, studied the Vera Institute report. He said the vast majority of defendants appearing in Greene County General Sessions Court are charged with offenses directly relating to drugs or crimes related to drug use.
Greene County Sheriff Wesley Holt estimates that about 90% of the inmates in the county jail and workhouse are there because of drug or drug-related offenses, a figure agreed upon by Roger Willett, Greene County Detention Center administrator.
“We’ve seen there’s a difference in what will get you arrested in a big city versus a smaller community,” Willett said.
Jacob Kang-Brown, a senior research associate at the Vera Institute of Justice, told the New York Times that, “In the big city, you get a ticket and a trip to the clinic. But in a smaller area, you might get three months in jail.”
Local officials agree the lack of regional treatment options contribute to the rising numbers of men and women behind bars.
“I think one of the most significant impacts is the sheer number of inmates due to the opioid and now methamphetamine crisis. We do our best to send as many people to treatment as possible. However it typically takes six to 12 weeks to get someone into treatment due to lack of funding and limited bed space in treatment centers,” Bailey said.
“We have so many cases that are tied to the drug crisis — many of the theft charges, burglary charges, assault charges, et cetera, are tied to drug issues by the offender,” Bailey said.
He said judicial, law enforcement and healthcare officials are compelled to work with the resources at hand.
“We have done our best to be creative to get treatment for people who need it. We have the Recovery Court program, we have Intensive Outpatient Therapy available in the mornings and in the evenings, we have started a special docket once a month to review alcohol and drug treatment compliance by individuals on probation,” Bailey said.
Participating agencies include Frontier Health and Comprehensive Community Services.
Bailey said information is handed out in court about treatment center options, with over 30 facilities listed.
“We also provide information about the recovery meetings that are available to attend in Greeneville and Greene County, which include over 30 meetings, and at least four different meetings each day of the week Monday through Sunday,” Bailey said.
FEW GREENE COUNTY OPTIONS
Proposals have been discussed to convert part of the former Greene Valley Developmental Center in Greeneville into a rehabilitation and treatment center for those addicted to drugs. The idea remains just one of several proposals for use of the vacant complex in Greeneville, which served individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities before it closed in May 2017.
The inmate count Friday at the Greene County Detention Center and Workhouse stood at 425, below the rated capacity of about 450.
Sheriff Esco Jarnigan of Hamblen County spoke to the New York Times in a recent article about the findings of the Vera Institute report. Jarnigan described the Hamblen County Jail in Morristown as “a cesspool of a dungeon” where inmates are subjected to “terrible conditions” every day.
The Greene County Detention Center on East Depot Street was built in 1987 and was designed to house 152 inmates. As a result of jail overcrowding, the Greene County Workhouse was built and became operational in 2002.
Greene County in recent years created housing at the workhouse to accommodate the increasing number of female inmates and initiated other changes to alleviate overcrowding.
“We’re not as bad as others in (nearby) counties. We’re not overcrowded, but we’re close,” Willett said.
Bailey said local jail inmates who may be better served in a rehab or treatment setting often wait months for a bed to open up at the limited number of treatment facilities elsewhere in the state.
“I don’t know of any rehabs in Greene County,” Willett said. “I’ve seen a lot of good ideas (but with) state government or federal government, that’s something they have to work out. We don’t send any of our inmates to facilities in Greene County.”
There is an acute need for more treatment facilities, particularly locally, Bailey said.
“We need more treatment beds available. The State of Tennessee has done a tremendous job over the past six years of increasing funding for treatment, but we could use more,” he said. “Our local mental health center could also use more alcohol and drug therapists, but unfortunately they are limited due to the financial impact on their budget, and they tell me it is difficult to find good, qualified therapists.”
LOCAL EFFORTS
The Greene County court system has a criminal justice liaison funded through a partnership between Frontier Health and the State of Tennessee.
“Our liaisons do a great job of working with inmates in jail trying to find treatment beds for inmates. They also assist individuals with connecting with individual therapy and intensive outpatient therapy,” Bailey said.
At the Greene County jail and workhouse, there are programs in place to help inmates transition from incarceration to living a productive life after release.
In addition to a GED program, the jail offers a life skills program overseen by Frontier Health, a work-release initiative that partners with local industry, a Department of Veterans Affairs outreach effort that works with military veterans, and the faith-based “Living Free” program.
“A lot of the resources we have here are from the community and non-profits. We rely on that,” Willett said.
“We (stress) education and try to prevent it before people get addicted. Once people get into the addiction cycle, it is really hard to break it,” Willett said.
Men and women released from jail face many challenges in staying clean, Willett said.
“There’s no transportation system in Greene County. That’s a big disadvantage,” he said. “You put a person on probation and if you don’t have a license, how are you going to get a job?”
MAKING DO
Holt said the staff at the jail and workhouse does its best to provide support for inmates to help them change their lives.
Drug addiction makes the process more challenging.
“We’re trying to give them some types of programs to help them before they get out,” he said. “It’s a national epidemic.”
Bailey praised the staff at the Greene County jail and workhouse.
“Our detention center staff has done a tremendous job of handling this crisis and all the problems that have come with it, even with their limited space, staff and funds,” the judge said.
“Our detention center has also started programs such as the Living Free program in which volunteers lead programs about alcohol and drug issues. There is a full-time therapist at our jail to lead alcohol and drug groups, along with providing individual therapy sessions. That helps, but again funding is the big issue.”
Willett had equally high praise for the job Bailey does in managing an ever-increasing caseload in multiple courts.
In 2018, nearly 8,100 criminal cases were handled by the Greene County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office. Civil case numbers totaled about 3,100. There were 925 cases in Juvenile Court, which includes juvenile traffic and tobacco or vaping charges.
Juvenile family and custody court cases totaled 360. There were 2,311 child support cases heard in Greene County.
“The volume of cases continues to rise each year. Judge Bailey hears the majority of these cases, sessions and juvenile, five days a week,” Circuit Court Clerk Chris Shepard recently said.
Getting “more judges involved” would benefit the whole court system and see quicker resolution of some cases, Willett said.
Proposals to add a county-funded second General Sessions Court judge in Greene County have not been approved.
