Jail's full, as it should be

Red Star reporter Mike Kaszuba writes about the Hennepin County (Minn) jail, and it's apparent jail population surge here.

For the first time since the jail opened in 2001, the average daily number of inmates last month topped 700 prisoners. On Aug. 29, it surged to 756 inmates -- nearly 300 more inmates than were typically in the jail four years ago. The inmates have far exceeded the capacity of the new 330-bed jail, forcing the county to increasingly rely on the old jail facility at Minneapolis City Hall. The old jail, which occupies the fourth and fifth floors, is more than 100 years old and is undergoing an extensive remodeling. Combined, the old and new jails have 839 beds.

Less felons on the streets? It's like Christmas! More good news:

County officials said the surge has occurred because a larger percentage of the jail's population consists of inmates charged with more serious crimes who are unable to post bail. While the length of stay for inmates charged with gross misdemeanors fell 13.5 percent from 2002 through 2004, inmates charged with felonies spent 17.9 percent more time in the jail.

Possible causation:

At the jail, the results of the jump in serious crime is not hard to find.

Darrell Perkins was charged in the killing of man in north Minneapolis in a botched deal to sell the drug Ecstasy, and he has been at the County Jail since March 14. Lamarr Lucky Smith was charged with the July slaying of Martin Ruiz Diego, who was gunned down in May during a robbery after he and his wife got off a bus to go home after finishing a shift at McDonald's. Minneapolis Police Chief Bill McManus called it an unprovoked, cold-blooded execution. Smith has been at the jail since July 26.

Nobody should feel bad that Lamarr "Lucky" Smith is off the streets. Rambix has written about that piece of garbage before, here.

We like Penny Steele, but she needs to have a better handle on how the jail in Minnesota's most populous county is so relatively small:

Commissioner Penny Steele said it "will always remain a mystery" to her how the county decided the new jail should have 330 beds. "I've never known exactly how that number was arrived at. I just know it just came," she said.

The solution?

"That creates a hardship on the staff," [Sheriff] McGowan said of the rising inmate population and the increasing overtime for deputies. "The issue has to be addressed."

Well, that's not a solution, but it's a start. Count Rambix as "Happy to pay" higher taxes for more jail beds.