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Benton County Sheriff's Office Corrections Facility
Mission Statement
"The mission of the Benton County Corrections Facility, while protecting the community and its citizens, is to economically operate a safe, secure and humane facility that adheres to Oregon Revised Statutes regarding corrections facility operations, the American Corrections and American Jail Associations recommendations and constitutional considerations as provided by the United States Constitution.
The primary goal of the Corrections Facility is to provide inmates the opportunity to participate in and benefit from educational, treatment and rehabilitative programs. These programs are intended to enable inmates to re-enter the community better prepared to deal with their responsibilities as a contributing community member."
It's not just about locking people up in cells, it's about helping offenders make the changes necessary to become law-abiding, contributing citizens in the community. It's hard work.
Administration
The Benton County Corrections Facility is a component of the Benton County Sheriff's Office under Sheriff Diana Simpson. The Corrections Facility manager is Lieutenant Chris Schlegel.
History
The present Benton County Corrections Facility was built in 1976 with an original designed capacity of 27 offenders. Total size: approximately 8,000 square feet. Total cost to build: just under $800,000. It replaced the old stucco and tile jail which had served Benton County citizens since 1929.
Both the Corrections Facility and the adjoining Law Enforcement Center were designed by architect Graham Braun of Vancouver, BC with the help of a multitude of citizen committees. The citizen planning committees purposefully kept the size of the jail small for several reasons. First, they felt that many lower-risk offenses, particularly misdemeanors, should be diverted from jail and instead maintained on supervised probation programs. They also envisioned that a regional jail network would be built by the Oregon Department of Corrections to house felony offenders sentenced to serve time at the local level. In the early 1970's, small numbers of county jail offenders were occasionally housed in the now-defunct State Work Release Center in Corvallis and at the Forest Work Camp in Tillamook.
Oregon voters turned down funding measures that would have provided for the regional jail system. Inmate lawsuits filed against the Oregon Department of Corrections for prison crowding coupled with the economic recession of the early 1980s brought about an end to the state work release centers.
Matrix Release System
In 1990, Benton County voters twice rejected funding measures to build a 50-bed minimum security restitution center as an adjunct to the Corrections Facility. In 1992, local criminal justice system personnel designed the "Matrix Release System" to guide inmate release decisions. As offenders enter the Corrections Facility, others are released to make room. The Matrix Release System provides objectivity in this critical process. Persons brought into the Corrections Facility are evaluated according to their relative risk for a violent re-arrest or threat to flee. There are two basic criteria which are most predictive:
- Severity the current offense(s) and;
- Offender's past history (prior convictions, unemployment, failures to appear in court, length of residence in Oregon, etc.).
When the Corrections Facility reaches capacity, corrections personnel use the Matrix Release instrument to release those individuals who pose the least amount of risk to the community.
Corrections Facility Staffing
The Corrections Facility is staffed with three sergeants, three corporals and 11 corrections deputies as well as a pool of trained temporary-hire deputies used on an as-needed basis to maintain the Facility's minimum staffing level. Volunteers and college practicums are used extensively both in the line operation and program areas. Inmate medical services are provided one day a week by a jail physician and a half-time registered nurse. Building maintenance is provided through Benton County Public Works. Trained corrections personnel account for nearly 80 percent of the annual Corrections Facility operating budget.
Since 1993, police agencies in Benton County have added more than 20 new patrol officers to the streets, increasing the number of offenders being brought into the Corrections Facility for booking. The Corrections Facility also serves the incarceration needs of three state courts and two municipal courts. This is illustrated by the fact that over 3,000 individuals were booked into the Corrections Facility last year, compared to approximately 1,800 in 1992.
The Benton County Corrections Facility is the smallest jail per capita in Oregon.
To view the jail bed comparison spreadsheet, click here.
