Overcrowding is a problem in many county jails across Kentucky, but Christian County Jailer Brad Boyd doesn’t believe turning more felonies into misdemeanors is the solution.
Justice Cabinet Secretary John Tilley recently said during a committee hearing in Frankfort that increasing the Class D felony theft threshold to $2500 from the current amount of $500 and reducing penalties for low-level possession of controlled substances to misdemeanors could help to reduce the number of state inmates in county jails by up to one-third without irreparably harming county budgets or public safety.
Jailer Boyd is also the president of the state jailers association and says he’s made it clear to Justice Secretary Tilley and others that he believes turning those potential state prisoners into financial burdens of counties as misdemeanor inmates will only cause additional financial problems.
Secretary Tilley mentioned a cost-sharing formula that’s been discussed that could address overcrowding without being at the expense of local jails and counties. Boyd says he’s open to learning more about it, but he hasn’t seen the plan yet.
Ultimately, Boyd believes the issue comes down to addressing the root cause of why some offenders continue to repeatedly violate the law.
Boyd says the process is well underway to turn the old Sheriff’s Department on West Seventh Street at Little River into a remediation center where suspects who are not in jail and those recently released from jail can be monitored and assisted into a different lifestyle.
He says the center will require only a couple of new hires, as it will bring together personnel from multiple agencies, organizations and volunteers. Some work is being done to the building to make it suitable to serve as the center, according to Boyd.
Hear full interview with Jailer Boyd below:
https://soundcloud.com/user-350001776/interview-with-christian-county-jailer-brad-boyd