Portsmouth, Ohio Police Treated As Taxi Service By Jail Authorities
I submitted this report on August 1st, Scioto County Jail Doesn’t Want Most Inmates.
It is now August 31st and the status has NOT changed. I can only imagine how frustrating this policy is for those officers, sworn to defend the public, having no remedy to defend the citizens from most crimes.
There are many cases where an officer has made an arrest and the jail has asked the officer to bring the subject in to sign a summons. Then, because the officer brought them to jail, they have to taxi them back to the place of the crime. In some instances, the subject’s vehicle was towed during the arrest (the impound yard and tow truck drivers are still working) so the officer has to taxi the offender to their residence.
At this moment, the jail has 55 open beds. People are released or bailed out nearly every single day. We are now getting reports of people who have failed to report to court from another encounter with police and they are given yet another summons. So, that gives them the initial charge and then multiple failure to appear charges. In theory, unless the crime includes violence or rises above an F3, everybody walks.
There is no teeth in our criminal justice system. Law Enforcement is frustrated and the citizens are less safe than ever before. It wasn’t too long ago, we were reporting the jail had so many people, they were spending $60,000 per month to house inmates in other jails. Well, we certainly don’t have that problem now.
So, what caused this issue? Why did it, seemingly, happen the day after Captain Murphy retired? Why were the dispatchers notified via post-it note on their desk?
According to reports from inside the system, who spoke with SCDN on the condition of anonymity as to not compromise their jobs, it stemmed from an alleged incident of the jail sending an inmate with COVID into the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections.
The sources reported to us that the ODRC was extremely upset and refused to take our prisoners. As a result, it is reported, the jail is holding an open inventory in the event of a large scale need for high-level offenders. As we have seen in our Court Reports with Betty Smith, people who were out on bail and are being sentenced to the Ohio Department of Corrections must quarantine in Scioto County for two weeks before beginning their sentences. (Giving additional evidence that our sources were truthful). Also, another reason for jail officials to keep open beds.
Whatever the reason, this is not good for the morale of our much needed and appreciated police and sheriff deputies. It certainly isn’t good for the citizens of Scioto County to know that nearly every single crime will result in the equivalent of an I.O.U. to the court system.
