After being cited recently by the State Fire Marshal for overcrowding, Parish Sheriff Jason Smith this past Friday sent 19 of his prisoners at the Washington Parish Jail to Catahoula Parish, which is located to the west of Natchez, Mississippi.
The 19 inmates sent to the Catahoula Correctional Center are state inmates, not parish inmates. The state Department of Corrections pays parish jails to house some of their prisoners due to the same problem: Overcrowding of state prisons.
But even with the transfer of 19 state inmates out of the Washington Parish Jail, it remains badly overcrowded and Sheriff Smith is concerned about being cited yet again by the fire marshal. He recently told the Parish Council that the Sheriff’s Office has been cited 21 times in the past four years for overcrowding in the jail.
With the transfer of the state inmates for Catahoula Parish, the Washington Parish Jail is now at 188 inmates with 16 more being housed at the Bogalusa substation jail. The allowed total is 144, so obviously Washington Parish remains in violation and is subject to receiving yet another citation.
The jail and the entire Sheriff’s Office facility is owned by the Parish Government, not the Sheriff’s Office.
A major renovation of the upstairs offices at the Sheriff’s Office was recently completed, but Sheriff Smith feels like maybe some of the funds used for the renovation of the offices should have been used to increase the capacity of the jail. (Smith was not the sheriff at the time the renovation was designed and approved.)
In speaking to the Parish Council about the jail overcrowding problem, Smith said, “The parish owns this jail. I run the jail. We’ve got to work together to fix this problem, as it is now somewhat of a crisis. We’re going to get to the bottom of it, but I wanted to keep you informed.”
In years past, previous Washington Parsh sheriffs have termed the jail as being a problem, saying that the overcrowding is caused by an increase in crime that’s been fueled by drugs. In addition to other crimes such as burglary that may have been caused by addicts needing cash to buy drugs, there has also been a large increase in drug crimes themselves, such as possession of narcotics for sale.
A current parish official not affiliated with the Sheriff’s Office said, “Citizens have demanded that law enforcement agencies remove drug users and drug dealers from the streets but citizens sometimes don’t understand that aggressive enforcement can lead to jail overcrowding. Drug enforcement efforts in Washington Parish have been somewhat effective, and the jail situation is a result.”
He added, “A long-term solution hasn’t been completely worked out yet, but obviously something must be done.”
Washington Parish jail inmates are shown boarding the bus that transported them to the Catahoula Parish Correctional Center Friday morning.
PHOTO BY TRACEY LADNER
