Riley County jail at 141 inmates; major warns capacity and staffing strain

Riley County’s jail held 141 inmates on July 6, and Mark French, major overseeing the jail division, told commissioners that number strains the facility’s ability to classify and house people correctly.

"You realize anytime we're over 120, we're out of ability to do classification properly," French said, explaining the facility has shifted beds and converted a male pod to house additional females; he said the facility is designed to hold far fewer females in the designated female pod and that 27 women were in custody on the day of the meeting. French said the jail was also housing six inmates offsite and that staff shortages — the department is short several corrections officers — complicate operations.

French described cost pressures tied to medical supplies and operational needs, noting an anticipated 50%–80% increase in the price of certain items such as gloves and reporting a planned change to a local laundry vendor expected to save about 40% in that area. He said the department has five vacancies for corrections officers and is working to recruit but does not expect enough qualified candidates immediately.

French said he had invited department heads to tour the jail to understand why the jail has become a focal point of budgetary pressure and suggested the commission consider those operational realities when reviewing funding requests. He signaled that more information would come to the board if capital-improvement funding (CIP) is available.