Cooperate to end problems at jail, study recommends

Empty jail beds are crime deterrents, one of the consultants said.
By DEBORA SHAULIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Key players in Mahoning County's criminal justice system need a "clear, unified strategy on how to cope" with inmate population controls at the Mahoning County Jail, say a pair of consultants from the U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Corrections.
That includes creating a stable, fixed funding base for the jail and justice system; viewing jail issues as everyone's problem, not the sheriff's problem; sharing political risk; developing analytic capabilities; and educating the public.
Consultants Mark A. Cunniff and Michael R. Jones came to Youngstown at the request of Sheriff Randall A. Wellington to assess the jail operation. Their work began in October and culminated in a three-day visit that ended Wednesday.
Cunniff and Jones issued six findings, with recommendations, during a four-hour meeting at the jail with two dozen criminal justice representatives from the sheriff's department, courts, police and community corrections programs.
Also in attendance were U.S. District Judge David D. Dowd Jr., who's working to alleviate overcrowding and understaffing at the jail after inmates won a class-action lawsuit last March, and Atty. Vincent M. Nathan of Toledo, who as the jail's special master acts as a fact finder for Judge Dowd.
"They did a first-rate job," Nathan said of Cunniff and Jones.
A good start
Nathan amplified one of the consultants' recommendations to decide who will set local criminal justice policies -- outsiders or insiders.
"If you give me the problem to solve, it's going to be my solution," Nathan said.
Jones commended local leaders for creating a criminal justice working group that puts various entities at the same table to talk about common problems.
"Most jurisdictions don't do that, so that's really positive," he said. It took courage to bring in outsiders to look at operations, he added.
Cunniff and Jones spent Monday and Tuesday interviewing judges, prosecuting attorneys, administrators and police about a variety of issues that were factors in their findings.
Leaders should make adjustments based on jail limitations, then make their case to the public about the need for stable funding, Cunniff said.
If additional money became available, then leaders must decide whether to apply it toward more jail beds or alternative sentencing programs in order to free up jail space. Empty beds are crime deterrents, Cunniff said. "A full jail is not the best way to run the system," he said.
Taking risks
Collaborating also means overcoming reluctance to make difficult decisions and sharing in risks. If group decisions are made and priorities established with regard to sentencing, then the courts will have done their best if a minor offender is released and goes on to commit a major crime.
"We should not be that fearful of the media that we are unwilling to take a risk," Cunniff said.
Cunniff and Jones also stressed the need to analyze data in order to respond to changes within the system. For example, using Mahoning County jail booking records from the first quarter of 2003, Cunniff noted that 147 bookings (the largest number) were for domestic violence and wondered what drove that trend.
Cunniff has been executive director of the National Association of Criminal Justice Planners for nearly 30 years. Jones works as criminal justice planning manager for Jefferson County, Colo.
County Prosecutor Paul J. Gains said their presentation "gave him some insight" on the value of data and the money component of the criminal justice system. Diversion programs are cheaper than jails, but the county doesn't have the money for more alternative sentencing programs.
"If we want a safe community, unfortunately, we have to pay for it," Gains said.
Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. of Youngstown Municipal Court characterized the consultants' findings as fair to the system and recommendations as "good; they will be instructive for us," he said.
What's needed
Someone with the authority of Nathan is needed here to make cooperation and coordination happen, Judge Douglas also said.
The local criminal justice working group owes Judge Dowd a progress report by the end of this month, Nathan said. The judge will review that and the consultants' findings early next year, he added.
The report by Cunniff and Jones should be in Wellington's hands by Jan. 10, Cunniff said.
shaulis@vindy.com