' ... some pretty bad characters': Local law enforcement agencies work to keep area jails secure

EDITOR'S NOTE: The story has been clarified to note the 2001 construction of the Cape Girardeau County Jail merged a new facility with part of the old jail.

The images seen on television were startling.

On March 11, three inmates escaped from the Butler County Jail in Poplar Bluff, Mo., by crawling through a space between duct work and the main ceiling of their cell block. Video cameras recorded the trio dropping from the ceiling into the lobby of the jail, and making a dash to freedom out the lobby door.

The footage of the inmates dropping from the ceiling was aired on local television news broadcasts, and the trio apprehended the next day. Despite the recent jail break, county sheriffs and law-enforcement officials in the area remain confident that their jails are capable of preventing inmate escapes.

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan said the Cape Girardeau County Jail in Jackson, which can hold about 220 inmates, is a secure facility.

"The jail was built as secure as the technology of the time allowed for," Jordan said, referring to the construction of the county jail in 2001, when a new jail was built merging part of the old jail with new construction.. "We hold some pretty bad characters."

Jordan said he couldn't reveal all security measures in place, but said it would be difficult for an inmate to escape.

"We've got razor wire around a good portion of the facility," he said. "The doors in the cells aren't the old kind with bars that someone can try to squeeze through. We use a heavy, full-metal door that would take two men to lift from the ground."

Inmates are monitored by deputies and video surveillance. There are typically two inmates to a cell, and segregation units are reserved for inmates under a suicide watch or medical quarantine or those combative with jail staff or other inmates. Those in segregation are monitored by video and audio surveillance.

"Video cameras monitor what's happening in the cells and on the cell block," Jordan said. "The outside of the jail is also monitored, and we see the images from a control room. At no time is an inmate unobserved."

Jordan said the last escape from the Cape Girardeau County Jail was by Russell Bucklew in June 1996. Bucklew, who was being held for the shooting death of Michael Sanders and the abduction and rape of Stephanie Pruitt, put himself in a trash bag that was carried out and tossed in a trash container outside the jail. Bucklew was captured two days later and was sentenced to death at his 1997 trial.

"You never want to say a facility is escape-proof," Jordan said. "If an inmate is predisposed to escaping, they will look and look for a way to do it. But I can say that we're seeing to it that the facility is secure."

In Bollinger County, the county jail can hold 17 inmates, according to Sheriff Darin Shell.

"It's a small facility compared to others, but we're fortunate that it's well constructed," he said.

The jail, built in 1968 in Marble Hill, Mo., has razor wire around the fence and keeps four inmates to a cell. Shell said there also is a "drunk tank" and a segregation unit for hostile inmates, medical cases and suicide watches.

"We've also added a new visitation room where visitors no longer have access to the main part of the building," he added. "They now have to come through a more secure area to visit an inmate. It's a controlled environment."

The Bollinger County Jail employs video cameras, some of which are high definition, to observe inmates. Inmates in segregation are monitored through video and audio surveillance. Deputies at the jail also physically check inmates periodically.

Like Jordan, Shell couldn't go into detail about all of the jail's security measures.

"We don't want everyone to know how we do things," he said. "But short of building a new jail, we're doing all we can. I'm proactive, and I'm going to continue to do all that I can to keep the facility secure."

Shell said he couldn't remember the last time there was an escape at the Bollinger County Jail. But in June 2012, Charles Hovis, who was not under a suicide watch, used a safety razor issued by the jail to cut the insides of his thighs. Hovis later died from his wounds at a Perryville hospital.

Shell, who was not sheriff of Bollinger County at the time of Hovis' suicide, said he could not comment on the matter because of possible litigation.

The Scott County Jail in Benton, Mo., opened in 2003, replacing the jail that had served the county since 1932.

"The old jail was smaller and the staff had to use a ring of keys to open cell doors," said Capt. Kenneth Kinder of the Scott County Sheriff's Department.

Kinder said the facility can hold up to 120 inmates and uses video cameras and corrections officers who make "regular and recurring" rounds to keep an eye on those held inside. Like the jails in Cape Girardeau and Bollinger counties, the Scott County Jail also has segregation units for inmates who are on suicide watch, have medical problems or are combative.

"Inmates have a lot of time on their hands," Kinder said. "Some are creative, and they have the opportunity to watch and observe."

However, escapes at the Scott County Jail have been rare.

"I think that speaks well of the facility," Kinder said.

"The last time there was an escape was in 2011 when an inmate walked away from the jail. He only got a couple of blocks before he was apprehended."

Kinder also believes that no jail is escape proof.

"I don't think there's any such thing," he said. "No matter if it's a federal prison or a local jail, somebody manages to find a way out. Human failures account for some of that. But we're committed to the service and protection of the citizens of Scott County, and we'll do the best we can to continue to have a secure facility."

The Cape Girardeau Police Department is taking inmate security seriously.

"You have to work with the facility you have," said Lt. Barry Hovis, administrator of the police department jail. "Some inmates look for weaknesses to help them make their break. But if we find a weakness, we fix it."

Hovis said the police department jail, built in 1974, has 28 beds plus two additional rooms with no beds that are reserved for impaired or unstable inmates.

"We're not a long-term facility," he said. "We've had breakout attempts, but they're rare."

Hovis cited a recent example of a woman in the police department's processing room who asked to go to use the restroom. Instead of returning to the processing room, she made a turn that took her into the garage where an officer later found her.

"She was trying to get out of there," Hovis said, "but with the garage door closed she was trapped. Some people just don't like to be in jail."

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent addresses:

40 S. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

216 N. Missouri St., Jackson, Mo.

131 S. New Madrid St., Benton, Mo.

202 High St., Marble Hill, Mo.