By Phil Kabler
Charleston Gazette
CHARLESTON, W. Va. — Severe overcrowding in the state’s 10 regional jails has caused a spike in inmate violence, the Regional Jail Authority’s executive director told legislators Monday.
From July 2010 to June 2011, there were 695 reported incidents of inmate-on-inmate violence. That’s up 40 percent from 2009-10, when 496 incidents occurred, Larry Parsons told the Legislative Oversight Committee on Regional Jails and Corrections.
Incidents of inmate-on-staff violence jumped 87 percent, from 162 incidents in 2009-10 to 303 incidents in 2010-11, he said.
In the past year, 58 correctional officers were injured, either by inmate assault or while attempting to break up fights between inmates, he said.
“This is sobering information ... when you have an 87 percent increase in inmate assaults on staff,” said Sen. Bill Laird, D-Fayette, committee co-chairman and former Fayette County sheriff.
Parsons said part of the problem is that the jails are so overcrowded there is no way to enforce disciplinary detention, commonly known as solitary confinement.
He said prisoners know that if they misbehave, they’ll be written up for sanctions, but otherwise will have no other punishment imposed.
“The sum total of this misbehavior is zero,” Parsons said.
In order to deal with the 10 regional jails’ populations running more than 1,700 inmates above original design capacity, the authority added a total of 1,492 bunks to cells originally intended for just one inmate.
“We have pretty much tapped out our ability to double-bunk in the regional jails,” Parsons said.
Under the original design, each regional jail had at least 96 single-inmate cells for disciplinary detention, protective custody, and for convicted felons awaiting transfer to one of the state prisons. Larger regional jails had 144 single cells, he said.
Committee members requested the information on inmate violence last month, when Parsons reported that severe overcrowding at the regional jails resulted in many inmates having to sleep on cell floors.
Currently, there are 223 inmates assigned to sleep on 3-inch thick mattresses on cell floors at the 10 jails, Parsons said Monday.
Parsons said in order for regional jails to operate normally, with single-inmate protective custody and disciplinary detention cells, and with no inmates sleeping on the floor, more than 900 of the nearly 1,800 Division of Corrections prisoners would need to be moved to state prisons, which are themselves at maximum capacity.
Corrections Commissioner Jim Rubenstein said of the overcrowding, “I do believe we are at the crisis stage.
“I’m not advocating the construction of a new [prison] facility, but we’ve got 1,800 [inmates] sitting in regional jails. They’re full, and we’re full,” Rubenstein said. “You can only put so many people in a pot and stir it — it’s going to boil over at some point.”
Laird said it is time to redouble efforts for community corrections and alternative sentencing options.
“My belief is we can no longer just slow the rate of increase. We need to reduce the overall numbers of persons incarcerated in the state,” he said.
Copyright 2011 Charleston Newspapers