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Sheriffs tell Judiciary Committee county jails strained by state backlog, urge higher reimbursement and capacity fixes
Summary
Sheriffs from multiple counties told the Senate Judiciary Committee that county jails are overcapacity, with roughly 2,300 state inmates held in county facilities, COVID quarantines and staffing shortages compounding violence and costs; members discussed regional jails, reimbursement rates and longer-term prison capacity solutions.
Sheriffs and county officials told the Senate Judiciary Committee the state's prison and intake backlog has shifted thousands of state prisoners into county jails, producing overcrowding, staffing shortages and heightened safety risks.
"The backup in our county jail statewide is as bad as I've ever seen it," Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder told the committee. He and other sheriffs said a substantial share of jail populations—reported in the hearing as roughly 25–36 percent in some counties—are people held for the state rather than local misdemeanors, and that COVID quarantine and transport requirements have worsened capacity problems.
Panelists and committee members…
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