The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office begins running the county jail again

A familiar face takes control over the <b><a class="headlinelink" href="http://www.kotv.com/main/home/searchKOTV.asp?mainSearch=Tulsa County jail">Tulsa County jail</a></b>. For years, the jail was run

Friday, July 1st 2005, 6:28 am

By: News On 6

A familiar face takes control over the Tulsa County jail. For years, the jail was run by a private corporation. But now, the Tulsa County Sheriff is in charge of day-to-day operations.

6 in the Morning reporter Omar Villafranca says a private company called Corrections Corporation of America ran the jail for about six years. But Friday, they handed the keys over to the Sheriff's office.

Back in March, the Criminal Justice Authority voted to approve the sheriffâ€™s bid to run the David L Moss Correctional Center. The sheriff had made bids in the past, but CCA always outbid them, sometimes by as much as $2-million. But this time, the bid was close.

There were complaints with the booking process and several mistakes with releasing inmates when CCA ran the facility. But Tulsa County commissioners say the decision came down to dollars and cents.

With the sheriff running things now, there are plans to streamline the booking process and implement a pay-to-stay policy for inmates. And some county commissioners like the accountability of having an elected official run the facility.

As for staffing, the sheriff's office says it plans to hire as many CCA workers as possible.