MAHONING COUNTY Union: Don't add jail bunks

The union says it's a safety problem, but the sheriff says that's news to him.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Extra bunks, ordered months ago to boost inmate capacity at the Mahoning County Jail, have yet to be installed.
A spokesman for the deputies union says the union won't allow the beds to be put in unless more deputies are hired to guard the inmates who will fill them.
"It's absolutely an issue of safety," said Glenn Kountz, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 141.
But Sheriff Randall Wellington and Joseph Caruso, assistant county administrator, said the problem is a personnel shortage in the facilities maintenance department, not deputies, that's holding things up.
"We're down to two guys over there," Caruso said. "We're short custodians. We're short all over."
Approved in April
At Wellington's request, county commissioners approved buying 40 bunks in April. He planned to install them in cells that currently hold only one inmate. The idea was that by double-bunking in those cells, room could be made available for holding more federal inmates, for which the county receives income from the federal government.
But Kountz said the bunks still are stacked in the sally port at the lockup on Fifth Avenue. He said Wellington wants to install them in cell ranges on the jail's fourth floor, but the union is opposed.
"The fourth floor is our maximum-security range. It's filled with rapists and murderers. Really bad guys," Kountz said. "By double-bunking that floor, you're creating a highly volatile situation."
He said the jail already has more inmates than it's staffed to safely handle. The inmate population Wednesday was 813, with more than 700 in the main jail and the rest in a minimum-security lockup across the street.
Wellington said he was unaware of the union's safety concerns, and said the union has no authority to block installation of the beds.
"It's my call," the sheriff said. "But if there is a problem I will discuss it with [Kountz]. If it's a legitimate concern, we'll figure out what to do about it."
Pod populations
Inmates are assigned to a pod of cells, each with one deputy assigned to cover it for security. By double-bunking, the number of inmates per pod would increase from 36 to 72.
Caruso said facilities staff started installing bunks several weeks ago, but got only a handful done before getting sidetracked with other jobs at the jail, such as making improvements to the kitchen and the toilet system.
"The inmates have been mistreating the facilities," Caruso said.
Like Wellington, Caruso said he was unaware of the union's safety concerns, and he expects the bunks to be installed as soon as manpower becomes available.
The county bought and installed 135 additional bunks at the jail last year to accommodate extra inmates, including local prisoners and federal detainees.
The sheriff had to receive special permission from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to bunk two inmates per cell instead of one because that deviates from state jail standards.
Wellington said he doesn't believe bringing in more inmates will cause the jail to be overcrowded or put a strain on deputies who guard them.
bjackson@vindy.com