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Show I DAVIS COUNTY CUPPER, DECEMBER 3, 1976 UtAs 7 VA I ''''A''A" m$m0A I' A?' Visitors center at the north tank. SHERIFF William J. Dub Lawrence says the five. women, who should be incarcerated in the Davis jail, are iri custody in Salt Lake City jails because they have been crowded out. In exchange for the women, the Salt Lake jail facility sent five male prisoners to Davis thats . tees, along with a fatal mistake, AT NIGHT were AT THE time of the study the evidence room was located in the jail. It has now been moved from the jail into the main sheriffs offices to allow more room in the jail. In an effort to cope with the space problem in the Sheriffs building, the Precinct Court, '.which'' was housed m ; the building, was moved to the basement of the county court house. The precinct court room was taken over as headquarters for the 12 pa trolmeri. The four investigating officers have a separate other Sheriff room. THE PROBLEM in the office itself is there is no space to store records, Sheriff there are only two officers in the building. One is the jailer. The other is the dispatcher, who dispatches the three cars that patrol Davis County at night. The dispatcher keeps his thumb on what is happening by watching three television monitors that show the front door to the sheriffs office, the booking desk in the jail and entries to the north and south tank. Sheriff Lawrence said originally constructed for women. Prisoners in the south tank are serving time for felonies. The south tank holds 20 prisoners and includes five .one night the jailer had unlocked the door to the south cells with four bunks to each tank and was attacked by cell. Some of these prisoners several prisoners. The deputy are awaiting trial and others at the monitoring station sentencing. could not see the struggle. THE TWO tanks have a of 32 IT WAS only when a Clearpower holding capacity prisoners, but currently 38 field Policeman arrived to there. The , drop off a prisoner, that the are housed average jail population is 44 struggling jailer was discovered. Otherwise a jail prisoners, Sheriff Lawrence said. When both tanks are break could have resulted. full the overflow prisoners Our jailers have more demands on them than any are placed in the drunk tank, which serves as a temporary other jailer in the state of Utah, 12 prisoners were housed in the drunk systems inadequate. Lawrence said. THE NORTH tank in the jail, with a Capacity of 12, has three cells, each with four beds. Those serving time for misdemeanors are held in the north tank. This was the area holding facility. Af one time ditioning prisoners, are supervised by only one jailer. The sheriff said one trustee stole three knives from the kitchen and smuggled .the knives into the cell areas. In a case like this, one jailer is not enough. Sometimes the jailer trusts someone he shouldnt. With no backup man, thats a problem, Sheriff Lawrence said. We take the prisoners they send us and theyre not always the best behaved. ; showing heating and air con- THE BIGGEST problem resulting from overcrowding is that of security, Sheriff Lawrence said. The trustees move freely around the jail booking area, the kitchens and the laundry. They do the cooking, the laundry and wash patrol cars. The trus- though five are serving time for offenses committed in Davis County. There are no women there because the north tank, originally constructed for women, is filled with malt prisoners. Sometimes overcrowding, the study used. There are no women in Davis County jail, even County. the Sheriff said. In addition to maximum security facility is By ROSELYN KIRK tank. They sleep on. benches along the wall and on mattresses on the floor. If the overflow exceeds the capacity of the drunk tank, the Lawrence said. room. We had outgrown the jail by the late 1960s, Sheriff Lawrence said. He anticipates the problem will get worse. With the construction of the Antelope Island Causeway, two deputies are needed to patrol the road and the island. . THE SHERIFF fears the addition of 300 female job corpsmen at the Clearfield Job Corps Center will add an additional burden for the sheriffs office - especially when there are no facilities -- for women. Last year 1,006 Sheriff Lawrence said. We need more men to cover the jail at night, but we cant afford it, A study conducted by the firm of Lunnen and Nielsen in 1971, indicated that $362,000 needed to be spent on the jail, Current records for the last two years are stored in filing cabinets in the front office. Records from preceding years are filed in boxes and stacked in the entry way to the womens rest - 202 felonies and misdemeanors were handled by the seven courts in Davis County. Most of those convicted were incarcerated in Davis County jail. The problem will continue to increase as the population grows. Sheriff Lawrence said, rk Photos by Fred Wright A ?. ... V V f r ' , , W w ' A .s fit' ... s V ' x ' v. ;V? V :::v Communication-dispatc- h center for the Davis County Sheriffs office. Television monitors provide surveillance of various jail sections. Maximum security cell is used to temporarily house new prisioners as well as troublesome inmates. |