Sheriff Chuck Allen held a jail symposium, Friday afternoon, bringing various stakeholders together to discuss ways to make the Washoe County Detention Facility operate as efficiently as possible. County commissioners, deputies, police officers, the district attorney and judges attended because they all have a role in criminal justice. Speakers discussed issues including mental illness, medical practices, national trends and opioid addiction in jails.
"The opioid, mental health epidemics, they touch all of us," Carrie Hill, Director of the National Center for Jail Operations said. "This isn't just a jail issue. So who's involved? Everyone including education, the state, we're all here together."
Allen asked for a jail audit, earlier this year. The National Sheriffs' Association conducted the executive summary.
"I have great people, great organization, I trust my people but at the end of the day I wanted to see what we were doing right and what we were doing wrong," Allen said.
Allen says many of the issues in Washoe County's jail are happening all over the country.
"Jails across America seem to be the one point where all mental health folks reside on a short-term basis," Allen said.
Jail staff deals with issues like suicide prevention and excited delirium. Allen hopes that an outside perspective will help the jail operations to run more smoothly for inmates and staff. That is why Hill and others spoke at the symposium.
"When you have a safer environment, it's safer not only for the inmates, it's safer for the staff and the community at large," Hill said. "This truly is a collaborative effort."
More than 60 people are booked into the Washoe County Detention Facility per day, adding up to about 24,000 each year. Their average stay is nearly 15 days. 75 percent of them have felonies, and Allen says more serious crimes can have a ripple effect in the jail.
"These people are not afraid to be violent to my staff," Allen said. "So, we're looking at staffing numbers and their incarceration stays are longer."
208 deputies work in the jail, which is far fewer than it had in 2008 and 2009 when 240 people worked there. More people are going to jail and the county's population is growing quickly. That adds even more strain for WCSO.
"Often, the crime rate will increase," Allen said. "Our calls for service will definitely increase. So we have to think about our manpower needs as well."
Staff is looks for signs of drug abuse when inmates are booked into the jail. Opioid abuse is becoming more and more common in America's jails and Washoe County is no different.
"It's not just challenging for me as a sheriff," Allen said. "It's challenging for this community and I think it's challenging for all Americans across this country. How do we deal with it?"
"It isn't enough just that they're dropped off," Hill said. "Staff, right away have to be aware of what those issues are. That's why an extensive intake booking process is done."
Hill says there is initial treatment at jails, but the long-term treatment is just as important. That is treatment that gets people back into the community, hopefully reducing recidivism rates.
Allen is learning small things that can improve the jail, including finding ways to utilize space better within the jail. The final report is expected to be completed within 30-60 days.
