Transcript Staff

For the first time in three months, the Cleveland County Detention Center completed a full week of keeping within state guidelines for jail population, officials said Monday.

In a report to Cleveland County Commissioners, Jail Consultant Neil Vickers said the county jail held an average of 168 inmates per day Sept. 14-20. On no day did the jail head count exceed the maximum capacity of 177, Vickers said.

Vickers, retired Norman Police assistant chief, was appointed temporary jail consultant in February. He was hired to expedite moving inmates out of the jail for court appearances, release or transfer to other jails and state prisons.

All jail population figures are in addition to the 20 Cleveland County prisoners a day held in the Pottawatomie County Jail under an agreement that took effect in June of last year. Pottawatomie County holds Cleveland County prisoners for $28 per prisoner per day. Cleveland County Commissioners also are investigating sites for a new jail because the county detention center was not built with the capacity to expand. Norman architect Ben Graves has been hired to design the new jail.

In the latest report, the highest number of Cleveland County jail inmates occurred on Sunday, Sept. 17, when 176 were counted. As is normally the case, Vickers said, the higher Sunday jail population resulted from weekend arrests, which normally pack the jail before Monday morning court appearances. His report indicates 26 were arrested on misdemeanor complaints over the weekend, but only six of those remained in the jail by Monday, Sept. 18. Many were able to post bond, Vickers said.

The latest previous week when the jail kept within the maximum capacity mandated by the state health department occurred June 15-21, when the jail's average daily head count was 166.

Over the week of Sept. 14-20, sheriff's deputies delivered four county prisoners to other jails, Vickers said. Seven being held for misdemeanor court costs and fines were released after making payment arrangements with the courts, he said. Alternative programs also relieved the overcrowding problem.

Vickers said 25 on county complaints are on an electronic monitoring pending court appearances. Another 10 are participating in the county's Mental Health Court program, and "12 more may be added in the future," Vickers said.

The Cleveland County Detention Center and other jails traditionally experience much higher head counts during warm weather and holiday periods, Vickers has indicated.

Autumn officially began Sept. 21, one day after the latest jail report. Cleveland County officials say they are hoping a cold snap will occur soon to relieve pressure on the jail.

Randall Turk 366-3547 rturk@normantranscript.com

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