Nonprofit says spending $1 million to move Lancaster County inmates won’t fix overcrowding

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The Lancaster County Jail is near its capacity limit and is looking to house inmates at other facilities.

The jail is seeking about $1 million to support boarding contracts, which pay for inmates to be housed at jails in other counties.

But local nonprofit Justice in Action says those contracts won’t help.

Advocates also spoke at the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday morning.

The Rev. Kirstie Engel with First United Methodist Church said that rather than putting inmates in other jails, the county should focus on diversion programs that prevent people from going back to jail in the first place.

“A lot of those in jail right now, they’re pre-trial,” she said. “In our country, you’re innocent until proven guilty, but when you’re housed in this manner, it’s almost like your sentence has already happened for them. A lot of those that are housed are losing jobs, they don’t have the support system of their family, and that’s all just devastating.”

Last May, the group asked county leaders to commit $600,000 to eliminate fees and increasing staff. It said doing so would give more people access to successful diversion programs.

Regardless, the board said it’s budgeting funds for the boarding contracts.

Chair Christa Yoakum said sending extra inmates to other institutions is preferable to crowding more inmates into the jail.

“We can’t control who is sentenced into our jail,” she said. “And so to treat people humanely, we must do this. We would have people lying on the floor, sleeping on the floor of our jail if we continued at this rate.”

Yoakum said just because the county has budgeted for it, doesn’t necessarily mean the jail spend the money.

She also said that boarding contracts will be a temporary fix to the capacity conundrum and that she’d like to get to the root of the problem.

To do so, she said the county will assess its criminal justice system and study how to expand diversion and rehabilitation programs.

Members with Justice in Action agree with those long-term goals but said moving people to other counties will only cause further problems.

Joe Nigro, a former public defender, spoke during public comment and said it will make it more difficult for families and attorneys to visit inmates.

“It’s hard enough for attorneys to go out to West O compared to when we had a jail here (in downtown Lincoln),” he said. “But my bigger fear is a year from now that county corrections will come in and say we need to expand the jail. And I’m telling you right now: Don’t do it. We filled that jail.”

Both Justice in Action and Commissioner Yoakum said in order to prevent further overcrowding, the state Legislature will have to work on fixing the criminal justice system.