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Kent County corrections chief reports rises in mental-health population, assaults and jail bookings; MAT program lowers recidivism
Summary
Chief Deputy Lindsey Cole told the Board the jail is housing more medium- and high-custody inmates, has rising average length of stay and a large share of inmates on psychotropic medication; the jail says its MAT pod reduced recidivism for people treated while incarcerated.
Chief Deputy Lindsey Cole, jail administrator for the Kent County Sheriff's Office, told the Board of Commissioners on Aug. 27 that the county's correctional facility has seen steady increases in bookings and in inmates with serious mental-health and assaultive charges, and she highlighted programming including a medicated-assisted treatment (MAT) pod that county staff say reduces recidivism.
"We currently have 1,477 beds," Cole said. "Our average daily population is 944. The average length of stay is near 11-and-a-half days now." She said the jail booked about 16,500 inmates in 2024.
Why it matters: The jail is the county's largest 24/7 behavioral-health facility by volume, and operational pressures ' including staffing, medical and transport costs ' shape both public-safety outcomes and county spending.
Key operational points - Mental health and medications: Cole said about 65 percent of the jail population takes "some sort of psychotropic medication," and roughly 5 percent are considered significantly mentally ill. She told commissioners the jail provides 24/7 medical care and expanded mental-health services through contracted…
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