Woods shares need for new county jail

Some suspected felons are released after booking at the Lake County Detention Center because the facility is too small to hold them, according to Lake County Undersheriff Ben Woods.

Woods, and Joel Shearer, Lake County Sheriff’s Department Captain spoke to members of the public and the Pachyderm Club Feb. 12 about the strong need for a new, larger, farther-reaching facility.

The county is facing some serious issues, said Woods, who took over as Undersheriff Oct. 31, 2015.

Though Don Bell, Lake County Sheriff, spent his first year in office cutting thousands of dollars from the department’s previous budget, the financial future of the department remains a problem.

“He went through the budget with a fine tooth comb,” Woods said. Bell cut everything possible and re-invented things that could save money.

One solution Bell found to meet the continuing needs of the Sheriff’s Department, was to purchase four new patrol cars for $55,000 and equipped them with revitalized and re-usable items from previous cars. Bell also instituted a uniform closet of re-usable uniforms instead of buying new ones as often.

Crime however, continues, and finding a place to put offenders needs to be addressed, Woods said.

Right now, only the most dangerous felons reside at the Lake County Detention Center. Those in jail are determined to be a danger to themselves or others, Woods said. And the jail is full. 

“We are releasing people on felony crimes related to violence and drugs,” Woods said. 

Lake County law enforcement representatives are working about 500 cases this year related to drugs, burglary and other serious, often violent felony cases that cost taxpayers in the form of property damage and loss of personal items.

For those who work for law enforcement and its court counterparts, the bill ultimately paid by the taxpayer is growing even higher.

“These problems are very expensive,” Woods said, citing a recent statistic from Lake County District Court Judge James A. Manley that suggested that the prosecution and conviction process of those cases will cost $50 million in state and local taxes.

“This translates in to violence and property crime. It’s bad for the land owner, bad for the business owner. People look at these things when they think of coming here.”

Woods said that one rental home owner who had to gut his house because it was labeled for methamphetamine use caused personal financial devastation.

“That’s a huge bill (to the community),” Woods said.

When suspected criminals are arrested and booked, they are given a score that represents their danger level. 

Most jail systems contain offenders from low, or level 9, to high, or level 20 to 30. 

Lake County Detention Center holds mainly high-level offenders, Woods said.

Shearer, the Sheriff’s Captain in charge of the jail said that the Detention Center’s current facility holds its capacity, about 42 inmates daily, rarely dropping below full capacity.

If given the facility, Shearer said he could easily fill a 100-bed jail today.

“It is barely accomodatable. It’s a major concern. The jail is a warehouse for dangerous people,” Shearer said.

The level of offenders in jail adds to the ongoing safety of deputies who need to usher inmates from one place to another, he said.

The answer to lowering taxes for the public and improving safety to law enforcement officers is to build another, more efficient jail that can serve multiple functions. 

Bell, Woods and Shearer toured the Gallatin County Jail, a newly constructed multi-use facility that is a financially responsible solution for area taxpayers. 

Lake County law enforcement officials believe something similar can be constructed here.

Bell was scheduled to speak at the Feb. 12 Pachyderm Club meeting but was called away on business. Woods comes from a law enforcement family that includes his mother, a police chief. Woods joined the Lake County law enforcement arena in 2008 and was a Missoula officer before that time. 

Shearer is a seven-year veteran of the Lake County Sheriff’s Department force.