BEHIND NEW BARS: CAPE COUNTY PREPARES TO OPEN SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND JAIL

JACKSON, Mo. -- Sheriff John Jordan walks through open, electronic security doors at the new sheriff's office and jail like a proud father anticipating the birth of his child.

In many ways, the jail is his baby. He spent much of his six years in office arguing for it, hoping to alleviate overcrowding and stop paying to house inmates at other area jails. And he expects delivery by the end of January, when inmates move into the $8 million Cape Girardeau County Justice Center.

As area jails go, it's roomy and technologically advanced. It includes a room for video arraignments, which allow a judge in the nearby county courthouse to handle initial court appearances through a closed-circuit television system.

A bank of black and white monitors gives the sheriff an eagle-eye view of the building and the area around it, including the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse.

The existing sheriff's office and jail on High Street in Jackson covers 18,000 square feet. Designed to hold 64 inmates, it opened in May 1979, replacing an old brick home on the county courthouse square that had served as the jail since 1906.

The new, three-story, 66,000-square-foot structure faces Missouri Street but adjoins the old jail. It's designed to hold as many as 152 inmates.

The entire sheriff's department -- a total of 60 road deputies, detectives, jailers, bailiffs and office personnel -- will move to the new justice center. County officials are considering moving the emergency preparedness office into the old building. The old jail cells could be used to house any overflow of inmates, Jordan said.

The public lobby, sheriff's offices, and a spacious garage are on the first floor of the new building, along with a Missouri Highway Patrol office. Two tiers of jail cells are on the second floor with concrete floors above and below the cells for security.

Jordan keeps a close eye on every detail of the jail project, including the jail pods, each with two battleship gray metal doors. Each 100-square-foot cell is designed to hold two inmates and is equipped with a metal bunk bed and toilet. Some cells are handicapped accessible.

Most of the pods are designed to hold as many as 24 inmates. One area is set aside for women and another for non-violent males, including those charged with writing bad checks and driving drunk.

The cells in each pod empty into a commons area with stainless steel tables and attached stools anchored to the floor and television stands anchored to walls.

From behind special window glass, jailers can watch the inmates in the pods. The inmates, however, won't be able to see the jailers.

"We want a jail that is easily run, that is user friendly," Jordan said.

In addition to the regular cells, the jail will have four holding cells that can handle 20 to 25 people.

The third floor has been left for future expansion. County officials said it could be developed into a courtroom in the future. Jordan said the structure is built to handle a fourth floor should it be needed.

Better for inmates

The county designed the jail to benefit inmates, too, a lawyer familiar with the jail said. As a public defender, Kent Hall represents many of the county jail's residents in court. He said the cell arrangement should reduce the risk of inmates assaulting each other because they're kept in smaller groups, and inmates accused of non-violent crimes are separated from the general population.

"It is not unusual to meet with a client and he has a couple of black eyes and a big bump on the head," Hall said.

Hall said the new jail also has more space for lawyers to meet with their clients. Currently, lawyers do so in a small room that doubles as the jail library.

It's so small "we are practically on top of each other," Hall said. "It's not very conducive to having a very good conference with your client."

Jordan said the building is worth the $8 million price tag because it will pay for itself over time with money generated from housing federal prisoners and by eliminating the need to house county inmates in other jails, which costs about $300,000 a year.

County Auditor H. Weldon Macke said he expects the new jail to hold about 35 to 40 federal prisoners a day on average. Macke estimates federal payments could generate $665,000 a year for the county, more than making up for the $450,000 a year in construction bond payments.

At times, the county has had as many 142 inmates in custody, Jordan said. The result is that many Cape Girardeau County inmates must be shipped to area jails.

But the county averages about 85 to 90 a day in custody. With the federal prisoners included, Jordan expects the daily jail population to average about 125 a day.

Some money from the federal prisoners will cover added utility costs, expected to increase by $40,000. Personnel costs are expected to rise by $160,000 with the hiring of eight additional jailers.

Other new jails

The need for a new jail isn't unique to Cape Girardeau County. Mississippi County opened a new one two years ago, and Scott County is preparing to construct one.

Scott County Sheriff Bill Ferrell expects his new jail, which could open in two years, will have space for about 120 inmates, including holding cells.

Scott County's current jail was built in 1932. The oldest in Southeast Missouri, it can hold 48 inmates. "Ours has a floor plan of a 1600s dungeon," he said.

Scott County used to keep most of Cape Girardeau County's inmates.

When Ferrell first took office in 1977, the Scott County jail had 33 inmates. Over half were Cape Girardeau County inmates, he said.

But times have changed. These days, Scott County routinely has nearly 100 inmates in custody, more than half of them housed in other jails.

Ferrell estimates it will be two years before Scott County will open a new jail. He expects there won't be a shortage of inmates.

"When it opens, it will be a full facility," he said.

The opening of new jails in Cape and Scott counties will have an impact on Mississippi County's jail in Charleston, Mo., which currently houses many of the inmates from those two counties.

Don Chance, Mississippi County jail administrator, said the 124-bed jail on a daily basis houses more than 20 inmates from Cape Girardeau County and about 35 inmates from Scott County.

The Mississippi County jail, which is similar in cell layout to Cape Girardeau County's new jail, also houses all city inmates for Charleston and Sikeston, Mo.

A 24-bed dormitory area will open in the jail after the first of the year, bringing the total number of jail beds to 144.

Chance said the loss of inmates from Cape Girardeau County and eventually Scott County could leave Mississippi County with some empty cells and a revenue loss.

The county charges $30 a day to house other counties' inmates. With Cape Girardeau County inmates alone that would mean the loss, on average, of about $600 a day. The total charge to Cape County often runs $20,000 to $22,000 a month, he said.

Chance said he is working to house more federal prisoners to make up the difference.