Tulsa police officers are having to wait hours to book inmates into the Tulsa Jail during busy periods, Police Chief Chuck Jordan said Thursday.
"We are having three- to six-hour waits," Jordan said during a jail task force meeting.
The task force was created by the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority to explore ways to ensure the financial viability of the jail -- formally known as the David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center -- which is expected to end the fiscal year $1 million over budget as it deals with nearly a year of crowding.
After the meeting, Jordan said the long waits have forced officers in the field to use more discretion when it comes to deciding whom they take to jail.
In some instances, people who normally would have gone to jail are being ticketed, instead, Jordan said.
"We are not letting DUIs or serious offenders go," he said. "And if there is a victim, we will wait and take whatever time it takes."
Tulsa County Undersheriff Tim Albin, who with Jordan is a task force member, said the Sheriff's Office does not have enough people to process inmates more quickly.
"The bottom line on that is I slowed things down because I walked in there one night and had 100 people sitting on the booking (room) floor with four booking officers," Albin said. "I think you would agree you wouldn't put your guys in a room with 100 drunks and dopers. ... It's just a safety issue."
Albin said he could use 50 more employees but that a low unemployment rate coupled with required background checks and physical fitness tests leave few applicants available.
Low starting pay -- $2,032 a month for jail workers -- makes it tough to attract and retain employees, Albin said.
"In my opinion, that is the toughest job in law enforcement -- working in that jail," he said.
Task force members discussed using mobile booking units and changing some internal booking procedures to get officers back on the streets more quickly.
Jordan said after the meeting that the long waits can have an effect on public safety and are costing taxpayers money.
"When they (officers) spend three to six hours in booking, they are not out there taking calls; they are not out there patrolling our streets," Jordan said. "Sometimes it goes over the end of their shifts, so it is costing us money" in overtime.
The city and county have long disagreed over how much the city should pay to house municipal inmates in the jail.
County officials have proposed expanding the definition of a "municipal inmate" and increasing the cost per municipal inmate from $45 per inmate per day to $59 a day. Under those terms, the city would pay the county about $2.7 million a year. It currently pays approximately $400,000 a year.
Albin acknowledged Thursday that "there are a million ways" to calculate the cost to house an inmate in the jail, and he said the Sheriff's Office is hiring an independent firm to come up with a definitive number.
Copyright 2013 - Tulsa World, Okla.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
