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Warren County given OK to add jail beds

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By Ed Richter, Staff Writer Updated 12:55 PM Wednesday, March 17, 2010

LEBANON — Warren County has received approval from the state’s Bureau of Adult Detention to allow the double-bunking of certain cells to help cut down the costs in sending inmates to other area jails.

The state bureau said a variance was not needed and that with some modifications, Warren County can permanently add up to 75 more beds without a jail expansion.

In January, Sheriff Larry Sims sent the letter to the bureau, which certifies county jails and sets the state’s jail standards, requesting a variance so it could add 63 beds to the current 197 beds at the jail.

State officials met with Sims and his staff on Feb. 19 to review the proposal and tour the jail. The state notified Sims on March 1 of its decision.

He said the county may begin to house the additional inmates by the end of 2010 or early 2011, but an estimate to build the bunks has not been determined.

Sims said the additional beds would allow the county to reduce the $1.2 million to $1.5 million it’s spending to house and transport prisoners in Butler County.

It costs $83 a day to house an inmate in the Warren County jail. Butler County charges $55 per day, but the price does not include the hidden costs for medical care and transporting inmates to Hamilton, Sims said. In 2008, there were approximately 5,000 total inmate transports which increased to 7,536 total transports in 2009, which also included 2,489 trips to the Butler County Jail.

On average, the county has been housing about 60 inmates a day in Butler County, but that has increased to 90 inmates recently.

The issue of adding double bunks has been a point of contention between the county commissioners and the sheriff’s office for more than a decade. Former Sheriff Tom Ariss, now a county commission candidate, and Sims, have maintained they will not ignore state safety guidelines that prohibit double-bunking in cells

However, Sims said this was not a “scam” to eventually build an expansion to the jail as some political candidates have suggested.

“Down the road, the county may consider that but we’re also OK with renting space,” Sims said.

Before the county can begin housing the additional inmates, jail officials have to provide additional documentation to the state.

Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4504 or erichter@coxohio.com.

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