INMATE POPULATION IS THE FOCUS
Eight individuals have been selected to serve on a committee that will study Platte County’s jail and come up with a recommendation.
The Platte County Commission announced the appointments at a meeting on Monday.
Named to serve on what the county commission is calling the Committee for Public Safety are April Baxter, Kenneth Brown, Pat Cockrill, Jim DePriest, Mark Ferguson, Roger Lewis, James McCall, and Greg Plumb.
Scott Fricker, presiding county commissioner, said: “One month ago we announced the formation of the Committee for Public Safety, a committee whose sole purpose it would be to find solutions to our overcrowded inmate detention center. And today I’m pleased to announce that our call for volunteers resulted in a list of very qualified applicants, eight of which have been chosen to serve on this very important committee.”
Dagmar Wood, first district county commissioner, remarked that “this is a huge commitment. I served on the jail committee in 2014 and it was almost a full time job.”
Fricker said three seats at the table were delegated to law enforcement agencies. Platte County Sheriff Mark Owen appointed Plumb, Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd appointed Cockrill, and Platte County Circuit Court Presiding Judge Thomas Fincham and his fellow judges appointed Ferguson.
The remaining five seats on the panel were filled by the county commissioners Fricker, Joe Vanover and Dagmar Wood. Those five appointees are Baxter, Brown, DePriest, Lewis and McCall.
After the committee was appointed, Zahnd told local media:
“This is a very impressive group of people, and all Platte Countians should be grateful they are willing to volunteer for this critical project. Running out of jail space for violent and sexual offenders or people who simply won’t show up for court otherwise is one of the worst things that can happen to the public safety of a community. I’m thankful that these highly qualified Platte County residents are willing to step up and tackle this important issue.”
Last month, Fricker talked about what he views as the reasons such a committee is needed.
“In a detention facility with 180 beds and a safe maximum population of 153 inmates, the population surged to 240 inmates, at which point the sheriff’s department began transferring inmates to nearby counties bringing the inmate population back down to 210; still significantly above safe levels. The county commission began regular discussions with the sheriff’s department about ways to reduce the population, but no easy solutions emerged. And while transferring inmates back and forth from Platte City to nearby counties is an adequate short-term solution, it’s not sustainable, it’s dangerous, it’s expensive, and there’s no guarantee those jails will have space for us when we need it.”
Platte County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Fincham spoke at a recent county commission meeting not only to support the idea of a larger jail, but he suggested the county should also acquire enough land to also build a new courthouse at an unspecified location.