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Consultants outline 468‑bed jail program, site options; board to review draft report
Summary
Consultants presented a jail system assessment and a 4‑phase program calling for a 468‑bed facility with specialized mental‑health housing, multiple site options and strategies (pretrial screening, electronic monitoring, diversion) that could reduce bed needs. No site or funding decision was made; a draft report is due in April–May.
At a March 11 work session in Bisbee, Cochise County officials heard a planning firm and architects present a system assessment and site options for a proposed new county jail, summarizing a program that would support a 468‑bed facility and related court and sheriff’s spaces while urging steps that could reduce future bed demand.
Karen Chen of Chen Planning, the lead presenter, told the Cochise County Board of Supervisors the study examined arrests, court filings, probation and local treatment capacity “to be able to inform decisions about future need for jail capacity.” The consultant team (DLR Group architects and Chen Planning) provided a program that would include specialized medical and mental‑health housing, an initial‑appearance courtroom and space for sheriff’s operations and courthouse functions.
The presentation emphasized that length of stay — not admissions — is currently the primary driver of population. “Average length of stay has gone up,” Chen said, “and it’s driving the population more than how many you’re admitting.” The consultant showed average daily population (ADP) rising from roughly 273 in 2014 to about 298 in…
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