Comanche County Commissioners want help with solving county jail problems

Comanche County Commissioners want some expertise to help them make decisions on the budget and operations at the Comanche County Detention Center.

Commissioners met in special session as the Comanche County Facilities Authority last week to discuss a variety of issues tied to the detention center, to include overpopulation and the recent death of two inmates. County officials said last week the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation was looking at the deaths of inmates on Aug. 23 and Aug. 24, noting cause and manner of death were being studied.

“The OSBI still is investigating both deaths,” Comanche County District Attorney Kyle Cabelka said, while Jail Administrator Bill Hobbs said he had turned the investigation over to the OSBI and couldn’t make any other comment.

Commissioners said the deaths are among the issues they want to study as the detention center and other county entities and facilities move closer to finalizing budgets for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Commissioners are expected to discuss the general county budget this week, but said the detention center budget — projected at $6.6 million in rough preliminary estimates — still was being analyzed.

“We’re still taking our first look,” District 1 Commissioner John O’Brien said.

O’Brien and Central District Commissioner Johnny Owens agreed with proposals from District 3 Commissioner Josh Powers that directed county staff to compile details that would allow them to bring in consultants to help with decisions associated with the detention center, including its budget and its overpopulation.

Overpopulation isn’t a new issue: it’s a problem that has plagued the facility since its earliest days.

Hobbs said while the jail is rated for an occupancy of 283, the Oklahoma State Department of Health has argued since the COVID-19 pandemic that it wants jail populations limited to actual bunk space, and for Comanche County that is 239 beds (14 reserved as quarantine space, leaving 269 for regular inmates). Thursday’s inmate count was 355, Hobbs said, adding the average count for July and August was 382.

Last year, the county struck a deal with Tillman County to use that county’s jail space for Comanche County inmates, helping to draw down Comanche County’s jail count. It isn’t enough, Powers said, adding he believes the detention staff needs to survey every county in Oklahoma to find those that could take some of Comanche County’s inmates.

That comes with a cost. Hobbs said Comanche County pays Tillman County $40 per inmate per day to keep Comanche County prisoners, which cost the county almost $900,000 this fiscal year. Tillman County was the choice for multiple reasons, including the simple fact it could handle up to 100 inmates, Hobbs said, adding surrounding counties could commit to only a handful of prisoners.

“There are 77 counties,” Powers said, of the likelihood Comanche County could find other counties to take its prisoners when necessary, drawing down the county jail’s population to its state mandated level.

“The only way to fix our jail is (getting) more people out,” Powers said.

Powers said the idea is to find a temporary fix for the overcrowding problem, then look for a permanent solution. He said looking for other jails with available room means Comanche County can strategically place its inmates in other jails.

Hobbs said the situation isn’t quite that easy. Some inmates have court dates in Comanche County, while all inmates have to be available for visits from their attorneys. County officials also predicted the Indigent Defense System would oppose the relocation plan, based on that issue.

But Powers said safety is a priority before legal representation.

“Inmates are dying in our jail. We can’t have that,” he said.