With Kentucky crossing the finishing line first in the race to punish criminals, now is a great time for Crittenden County to be in the jail businesses.Crittenden just completed and moved into its new $7.6 million, 133-bed detention center. It's the newest, most modern, high-tech building in the entire community. As of this week, the jail was holding between 80 and 90 inmates.
It appears that Crittenden got into the big-time jail business at the right hour. A study out yesterday says Kentucky's prison inmate population is up 12 percent, highest increase in the country. The state is holding about 2,000 more prisoners this year, according to the Pew Study on States.
Most of the new inmates are of the Class D, minimum security variety. That, too, plays into the hands of local jail operators. Crittenden's jail is certified to keep those type inmates for the state, which pays the county about $26 a day for each one.
County leaders say the jail will never make a profit, but it should cut local spending. Last year, Crittenden spent nearly $300,000 on its smaller, now closed jail. Leaders hope to save that much by operating the new jail and letting the state and other counties foot the bill on the new one. In theory, that frees up about $300 grand for other local services.
We will have more on this issue in next week's printed edition of The Crittenden Press.
Happy leap year!
