The women’s side of the Portage County Jail stands at double capacity this week, and the sheriff says he has a strong idea why: drugs — especially heroin.
Sheriff David Doak said overcrowding has been a problem for several years now. This week, 74 women were in jail awaiting trial or serving sentences for felonies and violent misdemeanors — but the jail was built to hold only 34 women.
“It’s a safety concern for everyone — inmates, the staff, everybody,” Doak said.
The jail is built to house 218 total men and women, but 237 people were held there this week. Each person in the jail costs the county about $65 a day to house, Doak said.
The majority of the inmates are there on drug-related charges, the sheriff explained. He said even if the charges don’t specifically indicate drug involvement, drugs — especially heroin — are to blame.
“When you’ve got burglaries, paper crimes, credit card theft, shoplifting — all of that is related to drugs or alcohol,” he said.
Maureen Frederick, president of the Portage County commissioners, said the county considers jail overcrowding a priority problem.
Money raised from a county sales-tax increase that passed last year will fund an expansion, she said.
“The priority is to get that done as quickly as possible,” she said.
But it’s unclear when the expansion will be completed.
Until then, the sheriff said the jail will have women sleeping on the floor instead of in beds.
One problem, the sheriff said, is that many inmates who are released on bond while awaiting trial test positive for drug use while free from jail.
“The courts just get to the point that they’re fed up with them,” Doak said, “so they throw them back in jail.”
But why does that affect the female population in the jail so harshly?
Doak said it’s because heroin addiction doesn’t discriminate.
“This drug epidemic has gotten so bad that it doesn’t know any economic or gender boundaries anymore,” he said. “It’s in every community, every profession, and it’s frustrating for everyone.”
Nationwide epidemic
The epidemic is nationwide, and drug overdoses have claimed the lives of thousands in the past few years alone.
In Ohio, the number of drug overdose deaths rose from 2,110 in 2013 to 2,482 in 2014, which is the latest available data.
In Summit County, the number of overdose deaths rose by more than 50 percent to at least 160 people from 2014 to 2015.
Compare that to traffic deaths, which claimed the lives of 1,008 people in Ohio in 2014, and the sheriff said it’s a real problem.
“When it surpasses traffic fatalities, it’s a serious, serious issue,” he said.
“It’s killing our youth, it’s tearing our families apart,” he said. “It’s got a lot of people a lot smarter than I am scratching their heads about what to do. I think it’s going to be a long road before we figure out what to do about it, and it’s just going to get worse in that time.”
Bills announced
News of the jail overcrowding came the same day that U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced a new bill aimed at helping people struggling with heroin addiction.
In a news conference Wednesday, Brown said the Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Reduction Act addresses the “entire spectrum” of addiction, from prevention to crisis to recovery. The many aspects of the bill boost prevention, improve tools for crisis response, expand treatment and provide support for lifelong recovery, he said.
The bill is separate from a bill spearheaded by U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, that also addresses addiction. Brown said Portman’s bill focuses more on law enforcement, while his provides resources to addicts.
Brown said support for addicts is necessary when so many are dying across the country.
“Addiction isn’t an individual problem or a character flaw — it’s a chronic disease that, when left untreated, places a massive burden on our health care system, our families, and communities,” he said. “It should not be easier for Ohioans to get their hands on opioids than it is for them to get help to treat their addiction.”
Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ.