© 2024 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Limited Jail Space in Jackson County Outpaces Problem In Portland, Sheriff Says

Jackson County Jail in Medford, OR.
Facebook
Jackson County Jail in Medford, OR.

A recent report about reduced criminal justice funding in Northern Oregon warns about the risk of fewer jail beds and inmates being released from jail early. But space issues are an even bigger problem in Southern Oregon, according to Jackson County Sheriff Nate Sickler. 

 

An August 27article in theOregonianquoted Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese saying proposed budget cuts to criminal justice programs could be “catastrophic” in the Portland-area. 

“In his words that would be detrimental or catastrophic to their criminal justice system,” said Jackson County Sheriff Nate Sickler. “Well, we’ve been living that catastrophic impact for a decade or more.” 

Sickler said the biggest impact of jail space constraints is known as “forced release,” where inmates are released from jail early or before trial because there isn’t enough space to hold them.   

The Jackson County jail has 346 beds, according to Sickler. He says their average inmate population exceeds that at 358 this year. 

Space issues have led to 186 forced releases in Multnomah County last year, Sickler wrote in a statement reacting to theOregonianarticle, but compared that to 5,300 early releases in Jackson County. The Southern Oregon county is also far smaller in population. 

Sickler said the Portland-area sheriff’s comments “gives credence to what we’ve been saying all along, that our system isn’t healthy here because we don’t have enough bed space for inmates.” Jackson County isn’t facing the same state budget cuts as Multnomah County. Sickler also noted that forced release numbers have been decreasing in Southern Oregon in recent years. 

 

Solving the problem of releasing inmates early will require a new jail with room for treatment and bed space, he said. 

 

Copyright 2019 Jefferson Public Radio

Erik Neumann is a radio producer and writer. A native of the Pacific Northwest, his work has appeared on public radio stations and in magazines along the West Coast. He received his Bachelor's Degree in geography from the University of Washington and a Master's in Journalism from UC Berkeley. Besides working at KUER, he enjoys being outside in just about every way possible.
Erik Neumann
Erik Neumann is an experienced radio producer and reporter who grew up alongside the Puget Sound. He's passionate about telling the human stories behind America's health care system, public lands and the environment, and the arts. He got his Masters degree at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Erik joined JPR after several years as a staff reporter at KUER, the NPR station in Salt Lake City, where he focused on health care coverage. He was a 2019 Mountain West fellow with the Association of Health Care Journalists and is a contributor at Kaiser Health News, a non-profit news service committed to in-depth coverage of health care policy and politics.