Sarasota County may be in need of a new jail

Discussions on a new multi-million dollar Sarasota County jail have surfaced.

From 2004 to 2007, Sarasota County was in the middle of a planning effort for a new jail because of a 30-year increase in the county jail’s population.

Sarasota County Criminal Justice Policy Coordinator Wayne Applebee said the effort included possible locations for a new facility and an estimated $84 million price tag. The three-year investigation for a new facility began after the 1,026-bed facility, in 2007-08, had more than 1,100 inmates.

That was a problem for a jail with an 872-bed capacity.

“We didn’t have the right number of beds for the influx of inmates we had at that time,” Applebee said. “Cots on the floor were coming into play more and more, and we had a sacrificed risk level of safety for a facility that can never put up a sign that says, ‘No Vacancy.’”

Five years ago, a citizens committee was formed to investigate possible changes that could be made to the current jail, located between Ringling Boulevard and Main Street, as well as sites for a new facility.
But, according to Applebee, the concept started to fall to the wayside in 2008, when the recession hit and the jail population started to decrease.

“Between the improbability of finding funding for a new jail, the jail population going down, the economic recession and a new sheriff’s philosophy, we paused the process,” Applebee said.

The population in Sarasota dropping 1.5% during the recession, Applebee said, could also have contributed to a lower jail population. Other factors for a lower jail population were new drug and alcohol programs created to keep inmate offenders from recidivism and a decrease in sheriff civilian support positions that forced officers to spend more time doing other things, resulting in fewer arrests.

But, recent data suggests a rise in the county’s inmate population and, therefore, at a May budget workshop, sheriff officials warned the Sarasota County Commission that the future of the current jail needs to be discussed once again.

In May, the average daily population of the jail was 967 inmates, meaning for the first time since 2008, the jail is at overcapacity.

For now, commissioners directed staff to report back to them at a future meeting about the overcapacity problem.

Applebee said the Sheriff’s Office would report back to the commission, most likely, in early 2013.

“We will include, for commissioners, an analysis on what can be done to the current jail to alleviate some concerns,” Applebee said. “We will also include some analysis for an alternative site.”

Applebee said he has no idea what it would cost to build a new jail in today’s economy but suspects the price tag could be cheaper, because construction costs have come down considerably since the jail was first vetted.

“We are not at point where we are ready to talk to the commission about sites and funding,” Applebee said. “We are at the point, however, to start dealing with the issue of rising inmate population.”

Applebee estimates it would take at least three years from the time the commission approves a new jail for it to be built and available for inmates.