County Commission | The Magazine July 2019 | Page 13

FROM THE COVER
Prison Crisis Spills Over
into County Jails
A
labama’s last wave of criminal
justice reforms saddled county
jails with a growing population and
millions of dollars a year in new
costs. And now, under pressure
from the U.S. Department of
Justice, legislators are contemplating
further reforms to address the
state’s dangerous, overcrowded and
understaffed prison system.
“The state’s prison crisis is
spilling over into county jails all
over the state,” said Sonny Brasfield,
ACCA Executive Director. “Clearly,
this is the next major policy issue
for us to confront with One Voice
in the coming months.”
Legislative leaders have asked
Gov. Kay Ivey to call a special
session on prison reform, possibly as
late as January 2020.
Like so many correctional
facilities in the United States,
Alabama’s county jails are
struggling to manage a population
where people are far more likely
to struggle with substance abuse
and/or have serious mental health
problems. And here, the population
in county jails is artificially inflated
by two groups of inmates that
properly belong under a state roof.
The first of these groups is
quantifiable – these are individuals,
convicted and sentenced, who are
overdue for transfer to a state facility.
By court order, the state has 30
days after receiving an individual’s
transcript to accept them. A weekly
report from the Department of
Corrections in late June revealed
that there were 266 extra people in
county jails because the state had not
made room for them, a number only
expected to grow.
Data is not readily available on
the second group in county custody
that properly belongs in state
custody. The 2015 reforms created
a process called a “dunk” in which
parole violators must spend 45 days
back in a state facility before their
parole can be revoked. A county jail
is the first stop for a parole violator
that has been picked up, who then
must be transferred to DOC.
“The ‘dunks’ who are awaiting
transfer are in addition to the 266
past the 30-day transfer deadline,”
Brasfield said.
Legislative Q&A
State-level reforms have
put county jails in a bind, and
legislators have more big decisions
ahead that will shape county
jails and county budgets to a
large degree. Recognizing the
importance of the county voice in
the legislative process, ACCA has
organized a question-and-answer
session so county officials and
advocates can raise their concerns
with legislative and state leaders.
Addressing Jail Issues at the
County Level
Amid these difficult
circumstances, Alabama counties
are making headway with some
of the most difficult jail issues,
and a segment of the convention’s
Opening General Session will be
devoted to these success stories.
Local leaders from Chilton, Shelby
and St. Clair counties will outline
how they instituted enhanced
behavioral health programs and
developed specialized courts
for drug cases, veterans and the
mentally ill. n
Alabama County
Criminal Justice Survey
County advocates needed data on county
roads and bridges to make the case for
an infrastructure investment, and facts
and figures will be critically important
again in the upcoming discussions
surrounding prison reform.
To that end, ACCA and the Association of County Administrators of
Alabama developed the Alabama County Criminal Justice Survey to
collect information about:
• county jail budgets
• sheriff’s department budgets
• community corrections programs
COUNTY COMMISSION | 13