Oklahoma jails showing flurry of construction after years of violations

<br>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Five years of prodding, legal threats and fines have brought a flurry of jail construction that's even getting attention from the Legislature, said the state Health Department's

Sunday, September 15th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Five years of prodding, legal threats and fines have brought a flurry of jail construction that's even getting attention from the Legislature, said the state Health Department's jail inspector.

``I don't have anything pressing,'' said Don Garrison. ``It's the first time that I have just not really been after someone to do something better.''

Within a year, residents in 22 of Oklahoma's 77 counties will have seen new jails open. Six other counties have plans for new jails and two others have upcoming votes for taxes to fund new lockups.

``I was told when I arrived that there were 25 or 30 jails that needed to be replaced,'' said Garrison, who started as state jail inspector in 1997. ``But that didn't mean anything to me at the time. I had never even been in a county jail prior to that time. I didn't know what to expect. I was appalled by what I saw.''

One advance came last year when Garrison learned counties could be fined up to $10,000 a day for not complying with Health Department orders.

``After that, we got some people to move,'' he said.

In 2001, 49 county jails, or 64 percent in the state, were cited for serious violations that included overcrowding and substandard health care.

State lawmakers say the activity has gotten their attention. Senator Cal Hobson has organized meetings with county sheriffs, county commissioners and legislators to explore issues such as creating regional jails and county financial burdens. Ideas from the meetings will be given to an interim study committee.

The committee includes Sen. Bruce Price, D-Hinton, who said lawmakers are interested in anything that would reduce costs for the state Corrections Department.

Using counties to house state prisoners may not be a good idea, say some such Jefferson County Sheriff Stan Barnes.

``If they dump DOC prisoners on us, it will break some of the smaller counties,'' Barnes said. ``If they do that, the state will have to find a way to help us expand our jails because the $24-a-day they pay for DOC prisoners won't be enough.''