Kent County corrections chief reports rises in mental-health population, assaults and jail bookings; MAT program lowers recidivism

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 providers and the county's Network 180 partners.

- Custody and offenses: Cole said the jail now houses a higher share of medium- and high-custody inmates than in prior years. She noted the number of inmates charged with serious assaultive felonies (including homicide) remains elevated; 47 inmates charged with homicide were in custody in 2024, she said, a number that effectively occupies an entire housing unit.

- Staff and accreditation: The corrections division now lists 278 sworn staff after a staffing increase in 2024; Cole described staffing as spread across 15 housing units and five shifts. She said the division is pursuing American Corrections Association accreditation and expects a final audit in December with accreditation anticipated in 2026.

MAT program and outcomes Cole highlighted the jail's medicated-assisted treatment effort. The jail opened a dedicated "MAT pod" after receiving opioid-settlement funds and partnered with medical vendors and community providers to deliver medication, counseling and discharge planning.

Cole said the jail's MAT program corresponded with significantly lower recidivism for participants compared with inmates who self-identified as having an opioid-use disorder but received no treatment. She summarized the program's results this way: inmates in the control group who reported opioid use but received no treatment had recidivism rates generally between 62 and 72 percent; inmates who received treatment at the jail showed substantially lower recidivism. For context, Cole said the jail's overall recidivism rate for all bookings is about 38 percent.

Other programs and trends Cole described a jail-intelligence unit that handles monitoring of inmate communications and information-sharing with other agencies; she said the unit increased data sharing by 254 percent in 2024 and produced more positive identifications. She also noted increased virtual-court hearings and indigent-defense services run from the jail, adding that those changes shifted operational workload into on-site staff that facilitate virtual rooms and equipment.

Performance measures and risks Cole listed performance measures the jail tracks (major rule violations, sanitation scores, use-of-force mitigation on Sally Port assists) and said the facility's metrics have trended upward in some areas as the custody level and offense severity increased. She said staff training focuses on de-escalation and crisis intervention and that the jail has added vocational, education and reentry programming; about 85 percent of those booked are released back to the community.

Commissioner questions and responses Commissioners asked about staffing, food service, continuity of psychiatric care, emergency hospital runs, and opportunities to reduce recidivism through community investment. Cole said the jail has monthly reentry and education programs, day-to-day medical triage and embedded Network 180 staff on site for many daytime hours; she said psychiatry and forensic evaluation services can lengthen a detainee's stay when restoration or evaluation is required.

"Those who are receiving treatment are significantly below" average recidivism, Cole said of MAT participants. "Those who are not receiving treatment are significantly above that."

Ending Chair Green thanked Cole and the corrections team for their work. Commissioners asked for follow-up briefings and data on educational program outcomes, staffing plans and emergency-transport costs.