Douglas County corrections director reports steady population, rising fentanyl risk and expanded Narcan use

Michael Myers, Director of Corrections for Douglas County, told the Douglas County Board of Commissioners on March 25 that the jail’s population and operations were largely stable but that fentanyl posed a growing safety risk.

Myers said the jail recorded 1,201 admissions and 1,264 releases in February, with a high count of 1,055 inmates, a low of 980 and an average daily population of 1,017. "Our average length of stay was 31 days," Myers said. He reported that 52% of inmates stayed longer than 72 hours, with an average stay of 58 days for that group, while 48.8% were released within 72 hours and had an average stay of 1.4 days.

The director said the department was ‘‘a little over $1,000,000 under budget’’ after eight months of the fiscal year but noted several earmarked project funds have not yet been spent. He reported $183,979 in overtime costs (about $55,000 lower than the prior month) and nearly $800,000 in bond payments processed by records staff. Myers also said four officers below the rank of sergeant left in February and six officers were promoted from CO1 to CO2; he said correctional officer staffing was at 101% as of Feb. 28.

Myers describe…