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Suncoast Pasco News

Jail Construction, On Track, To Relieve Overcrowding

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By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: September 5, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - A jail addition now under construction could relieve overcrowding as the number of inmates begins to swell again and inspections turned up "notable violations" at Pasco County's two detention centers.

The jails – the Land O' Lakes Detention Center, in north-central Pasco, and Detention West Facility, in New Port Richey – remain 35 percent over capacity, Sgt. Neal Berry of the Sheriff's Office told the Pasco County Public Safety Coordinating Council during its meeting today.

The head count this morning showed 1,359 at the main jail in Land O' Lakes and the jail in New Port Richey, according to a status report. That means 317 inmates had to sleep in temporary bedding, Berry reported.

"We've been climbing and climbing rapidly," Berry said about the inmate populations of the two detention centers.

The average daily population is up by more than 90 inmates since June, after the numbers had dipped earlier this year, Berry said.

Overcrowding caused the chief problems cited in recent inspections of the jails. Teams of detention officers from the Hillsborough and Pinellas sheriff's offices, acting at the behest of the Florida Sheriff's Association, gave overall high marks to the Pasco jails.

The inspections found "no serious violations" of the Florida Model Jail Standards, according to confirmation letters released today.

The addition to the Land O' Lakes jail, the county's main detention center, will create an additional 768 inmates beds, Frank James, the county's facilities management director, told the council.

The council, made up of judges, county officials and representatives of the Sheriff's Office and the Pasco-Pinellas State Attorney's Office, meets quarterly.

Construction of the three-story jail addition remains on schedule to open in the middle of 2009, James said. Rain halted work by crews for 10 days this summer, but not even six inches of rainfall has dampened the progress of construction, he said.

The contractor could reach "substantial completion" on the project by June 25, 2009, James said.

The need is so great that inmates will begin moving into the first floor of the addition after its completion, expected in early May, even as work continues on the second and third floors, officials say.

"This has been a long time coming," Pasco Commissioner Ann Hildebrand, the Public Safety Coordinating Council chairwoman, remarked about the jail addition. "It's paramount we meet that deadline."

The county caught a break on the price for the project. The grand total, slightly less than $17.5 million, is below estimate. The contractor guaranteed the maximum price for the job, James noted.
Carl Orth can be reached at 727-815-1068 or corth@suncoastnews.com.

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