Jail sees unprecedented spike
by Peter Jakey– Managing Editor
In recent years, the Presque Isle County jail has experienced problems, but nothing like the last three weeks, according to undersheriff/jail administrator Bob Paschke. ?We?ve had numbers we haven?t had before,? said Paschke. It started October 20 and progressively increased into the low 30s, until reaching a high of 32 October 24. Monday the inmate population had slipped to 28, but it had reached 31 over the weekend. Presque Isle County?s judges allow some individuals to serve their time just on weekends.
PASCHKE SAID numbers in the upper 20s are manageable, but some inmates are forced to sleep on the floor. ?It?s tough for some of them. That?s where you have more incidents in the jail,? said Paschke, who is pleased that there haven?t been any p
?AND IT starts all over again,? said Paschke. ?What we?re going to have to do, and it is something we?ve been trying to avoid, is we are going to have to ship them out.? That could cost the county between $35 to $50 a day for each inmate. Inmates would be housed in Montmorency and Alpena counties.
?I?ve already contacted other counties to see if they have room,? he said. While the numbers represent one of the highest spikes in recent memory, history says the numbers will head back down. In both 2005 and 2006, following periods of overcrowding, the jail has supplemented their budget by housing inmates for other counties. In early 2006, there was talk of a jail expansion and adding more beds, but no proposals ever went before voters. The prevailing belief among members of the county board of commissioners was that voters turned down a new courthouse and probably would do the same to a jail expansion plan.