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Sheriff reports jail population, mental-health provider transition and crime declines in Des Moines County
Summary
Sheriff Glenn Denning told the Des Moines County Board on Sept. 30 that FlowState is tentatively scheduled to assume jail mental-health services Jan. 1, which is expected to cut annual jail medical costs by about $12,000; he also reported the jail population at 70 and cited reported reductions in overall crime year over year.
Sheriff Glenn Denning reported to the Des Moines County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 30 that the county is planning a transition of jail mental-health services to FlowState, a provider associated with the state Department of Human Services, with a tentative effective date of Jan. 1.
"We have a tentative date of January 1," Denning said, adding that the change should reduce the jail’s annual medical costs by about $12,000 because mental-health services will be built into the provider arrangement with DHHS and FlowState.
Denning updated the board on jail population and interagency partnerships: "Our jail was at 70 this morning," he said, and noted five out-of-county placements remain due to bed-management needs. He described ongoing cooperation with the U.S. Marshals Service and said Des Moines County now has two deputies assigned to the Marshals' violent-fugitive task force and that Burlington and West Burlington each have an assigned officer.
On crime statistics, Denning said the county has seen a multi-year reduction: "Des Moines County, countywide... '22 to '23, we had an 18% reduction in overall crime, counting everything, all reportable crime, and then an 8% reduction from '23 to '24." He attributed the trend to visible proactive policing and collaboration with regional partners, and said task-force involvement brings resources and training.
Denning also reported recent operational items: updates to West Burlington's emergency operations plan and general staffing and recruitment challenges affecting detention operations.
The sheriff’s update did not include formal board action; it was presented as an information item. Board members responded with thanks and brief discussion of school resource-officer engagement with youth and local interagency coordination.
Next steps: Sheriff’s Office and county staff will continue coordination with DHHS and FlowState to finalize the service-transition details and manage jail capacity and medical-cost impacts.
