Jail overcrowding continues, no solution found

January 21, 2010

The Valencia County Detention Center continues to operate at nearly double the number of inmates it was built to hold, according to a report provided to the county commission last night by the detention center’s director.

“We’ve been operating at peaks of 180, and last week we were in excess of 200 inmates,” said County Manager Eric Zamora. “I visited one day, and at one given time there were as many as a dozen inmates being held in the holding cells at the intake area.”

The main detention center building, constructed approximately 10 years ago, was built to hold 98 inmates.

There’s also a separate detention section with additional space used to house female inmates. The female section is referred to as “the dungeon” because of its condition and old-fashioned cells.

Overflow inmates are being held in Cibola and Santa Fe counties, at a cost of $60 per inmate, not including transportation and medical expenses.

Commissioner Ron Gentry said part of the solution to the overcrowding could be limiting who can place detainees in the detention center. He said the State of New Mexico houses some inmates there without reimbursement of costs.

“I think we’ve fallen into the Ellis Island philosophy, that we just take everybody,” he said.

Each of the county’s municipalities and the Pueblo of Isleta also house inmates at the detention center.

Gentry asked for more details on housing costs. He also wants to know when the county can say its facility has no vacancy.

Stressing the importance of dealing with the issue, Commissioner Pedro Rael said at one point Isleta was having overcrowding issues and had to decide whether or not to keep criminals locked in police cars or set them free.

Zamora said the issue could become serious because a Santa Fe law firm has been evaluating and taking legal action against detention centers, including Bernalillo, Santa Fe and Dona Ana counties.

“After their investigations and legal action, those facilities have seen as much as a 1,100-percent increase in their detention costs,” he said.

While the legal action was related to medical care, the Valencia County Detention Center has another problem. Ten years after opening, it continues to have around only 30 officers to monitor a growing number of prisoners.

“We have a serious shortage of officers,” Rael said.

Commission Chairman Don Holliday said the problem is systemic and people need to think outside of the box.

“We keep throwing money at it, but the problems are not solved,” he said.

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