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Meade County sheriff’s office reports 51 in custody, unveils SRO vehicle Thursday
Summary
Chief Deputy James Johns told commissioners the county jail held 51 people, outlined per‑inmate cost estimates, and invited commissioners to a school resource officer vehicle unveiling. The sheriff's office also reported a sharp rise in certain civil paper service counts and praised dispatch training conducted in Pennington County.
Chief Deputy James Johns reported to the Meade County Board of Commissioners that 51 people were in custody at the county jail at the time of the meeting and previewed a school resource officer (SRO) vehicle unveiling scheduled for Thursday.
“We've got 51 people in custody right now,” Chief Deputy James Johns said, and invited commissioners and media to a 1:30 p.m. unveiling at Piedmont Valley Elementary School for the SRO vehicle acquired from the highway patrol and outfitted with graphics based on student artwork.
Johns provided a breakdown of current jail origins: “...35 are from Mead County, and 1 is from Perkins County,” and others from neighboring counties and specialty assignments such as drug court. He said the sheriff’s office is working to refine daily per‑inmate cost figures; current estimates range “in that $73 to $75 range” per day, though Johns said the county is testing methods to exclude rally‑related spikes and refine food and overtime calculations.
Johns also said the volume of certain civil service actions — particularly evictions or related service paperwork — rose markedly in the January reports and staff are working with the captain to reconcile those numbers. He suggested the increase might be tied to collection agencies or legislative fee changes but said the cause was not confirmed.
The sheriff’s office also described dispatch training conducted with the Pennington County center, saying the experience exposed Meade County dispatchers to a higher call volume in a controlled training environment and that the department considered the training “a huge success.” The office remains in the process of hiring additional dispatch staff.
No formal action was taken on the sheriff’s report; the commission received the update.
