Linn County sheriff readies jail for U.S. Marshals; mental-health center appears to be diverting most potential jail transports

The Linn County sheriff told the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 4 that the county's agreement with the U.S. Marshals Service allows marshals to house inmates in the Linn County Jail and that county staff are preparing to receive federal inmates again.

That agreement allows the marshals to use up to 70 beds in the jail, the sheriff said, and the county is still holding some inmates for Johnson County under an existing arrangement. The sheriff told supervisors that no request from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to house inmates had been received yet, but that other federal agencies sometimes "piggyback" onto the marshals agreement and would require a separate approval and additional contractual responsibilities before the county could accept their inmates.

The sheriff said the Fourth and Fifth Floor administrative holding cell remodel is about 99% complete and that cells could be occupied once the new CCTV is integrated into the main system. "The cells are able to be occupied, but the CCTV system has not been incorporated into our main system yet," the sheriff said, adding that the county is working with CEC and the vendor to link the systems and hopes to resolve the issue within about a week.

County staff also have largely finished replacing old box-style televisions in most cell blocks with enclosed flat-panel units, the sheriff reported, and said the project is near completion. On staffing, the sheriff said the civil-service hiring process produced six candidates eligible for hire after a deputy test; one existing detention officer who applied has already been hired as a deputy and five additional interviews are scheduled with the potential to make up to four more offers.

Supervisors pressed the sheriff about whether the reactivation of the marshals agreement could mean the county would again house inmates with varying immigration statuses. The sheriff said that while the county has previously held ICE detainees under similar arrangements, "ICE has not requested to house inmates in the Linn County Jail" and that any such arrangement would require outreach from the other agency and a negotiated agreement.

Board members asked about the effect of the county's new mental-health access center on jail housing. The sheriff said the county has observed a decline in jail intakes for people with behavioral-health issues since the access center opened. Citing data from the access center, one supervisor said that for January roughly "about 90 percent" of law enforcement and EMS transports to the access center were incidents that, without the access center, likely would have resulted in jail stays or emergency-room visits. The sheriff said local police departments and Foundation2 mental-health liaisons are helping divert people from the jail, and that "our numbers have certainly gone down because of the availability of the access center."

No formal board action or vote occurred on the items discussed. The sheriff's remarks were delivered as an informational update and supervisors asked follow-up questions about space, contractual limits and staffing as the jail prepares to resume housing some federal inmates.

Ending: Supervisors thanked the sheriff for the update and moved on to the recorder's report.