Comanche County Commissioners trying to address jail overcrowding

Comanche County Commissioners are taking steps to address problems in the Comanche County Detention Center, to include new prisoner holding agreements with counties in eastern Oklahoma.

Commissioners have been looking at various issues in recent months at the detention center, to include the fact the facility routinely houses more inmates that it is allowed under state regulations. Detention Center Administrator Bill Hobbs said in late August the jail’s average population in July and August had been 382 (Monday, the population was 341) when the facility is rated to hold 283. But because the facility must have 14 quarantine beds, that holding number actually is 269, he said.

County officials have used various methods to bring that population down, to include an agreement with the Tillman County Commissioners to use the Tillman County jail to house surplus Comanche County prisoners. Comanche County has been using that method to bleed off pressure (Monday’s Tillman County population was 68), but District 3 Commissioner Josh Powers said that wasn’t enough. He wanted Hobbs’ staff to investigate other counties that might be willing to take Comanche County prisoners as a temporary measure until county officials find a permanent solution.

Hobbs said Monday the search led to tentative agreements with Okmulgee and Pottawatomie counties. He said both counties report they have “fluid populations,” as far as the number of local inmates they house, which will affect how many spots could be available to Comanche County in a given week.

“That’s the only counties we have been able to find right now,” Hobbs said.

Tentative contracts have been crafted, but Hobbs said the documents were sent back to Okmulgee and Pottawatomie officials for revisions. Once those documents have been corrected and confirmed by legal staff, they will be brought back to commissioners for approval.

The agreement with Tillman County specifies Comanche County pays Tillman County $40 per prisoner per day they are housed there.