State, local leaders speak on impact of regional jail expansion

DeWine said while “it’s not a lot of fun” to spend money on jails, it is necessary in order to target “a small number of those felons that are violent, repeat offenders.”

Athens County Sheriff Rodney Smith said the investment from the state would help “ease the burden” of overcrowding by creating more space to incarcerate people, which Smith said will ultimately improve conditions at the facility.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to improve infrastructure in Athens County and keep our community safe,” Smith said. “We strive to offer treatment and recovery options when available. But sometimes it’s necessary to detain an individual in order to ensure the safety of law enforcement and a quality of life for our citizens.”

Athens County Commissioner Charlie Adkins said an expanded facility could have “slowed down or stopped” a mass disturbance at the jail that occurred in September by providing more space to isolate and separate inmates. The Athens Messenger covered the September incident, about which few details have been released.

The mass disturbance in September was the latest incident in which SEORJ inmates made headlines. In May 2020, inmates released a video voicing concerns over conditions related to the pandemic, as The Athens NEWS reported.

When asked by the Messenger, SEORJ Warden Josh VanBibber said the uprising did not “necessarily have to do with the direct conditions inside the jail.”

VanBibber said the incident had more to do with it having become more challenging with “the population we have nowadays” to “quell some of the problems that happen” through conversation.

In addition to the SEROJ expansion, the conference also focused on a $12 million investment by the state in a Hocking County jail and treatment facility for women. DeWine said the facility will help free up bed space at SEORJ by providing space to incarcerate women and directing women to treatment and rehabilitation who might otherwise face incarceration.

Hocking County Municipal Court Judge Fred Moses said there was a need for these alternatives to incarceration.

“A lot of people who come to my court are people with issues — mental health, drugs, poverty, trauma — all these things that contribute to what we see everyday in our courts,” Moses said. “I rarely see bad people come through my court, people you would consider really hardened criminals.”

When asked what can be done long-term to address the root causes of crime — and ultimately avoid spending more money on jails — DeWine emphasized education, citing the state’s Dolly Parton Imagination Library program, which provides books for children, and investments in school wellness.

Southeast Ohio Regional Jail is one of several state and regional jails receiving funding as a result of Senate Bill 310, passed by the Ohio General Assembly and signed by DeWine in December 2020. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s Bureau of Adult Detention oversaw an application process to award funding to facilities it determined had a need for construction or renovation work to improve conditions and operations.

Scioto County Jail also received funding to expand its facilities. Meanwhile, Coshocton County, Gallia County, Harrison County and Lawrence County received grants to assist in building new jails, based on the age and condition of their current county jail facilities.