Jail alternatives at issue
Inmate beds, treatment at top of county agenda
Sit in a jail cell and pay your debt to society, or receive some sort of treatment and life skills in hopes that you never step foot in a jail again? The issue is up for debate in Salt Lake County, where public safety vs. treatment for offenders is at the top of the political agenda.
County officials are pushing the idea of alternatives to incarceration — options that would take low-risk inmates out of the county jail and into treatment programs. It's a promising idea, but so far it isn't working, Sheriff Aaron Kennard said.
The sheriff said he is struggling to find ways to incarcerate prisoners with a full jail and a County Council mandate to cut another 300 beds by July. In fact, by cutting those 300 beds the council is also likely pulling the plug on one of the treatment programs.
"The council has cut too deep," Kennard told the Deseret Morning News. Now the sheriff is asking for a reprieve. Kennard recently asked the council to reconsider the 300-bed cut and plans on presenting a new budget request within the month.
If the council doesn't change its mind on the jail-bed issue, Kennard will have to close another unit — 64 minimum-security beds in all — by March 1. The closure would also mark the end of the Correction Addictions Treatments Systems (CATS) program, an in-house drug treatment program highly favored by Utah judges, said Pat Fleming, director of the county's substance abuse division.
The CATS program is just one of many options county officials are using to treat offenders in an attempt to reduce the recidivism rate. The Day Reporting Center (DRC), a place where county jail inmates can swap jail time for outpatient treatment, has been up and running for about two months. The DRC will curb the jail population significantly because the offenders who will be moved to the substance-abuse program are those who are most likely to endure the "revolving door" of the prison system, said Gary Dalton, director of the county's criminal justice services division.
To date, 10 people have successfully completed the DRC's substance abuse treatment program, 12 left without completing it, and three people never showed up, said Jean Nielsen, Salt Lake County director of human services
Inmates who are selected to leave the jail for the DRC are subject to sanctions if they commit any crimes or fail to follow established reporting rules. They will also receive drug testing and strict monitoring of progress in substance abuse treatment, said David Marshall, program manager for the DRC.
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