When 28 - 6 = 28???......(and costs Escambia Taxpayers $37,179.00*)

Basic arithmetic should not be this difficult for the state's department of corrections.....

There was a costly, frustrating, and exasperating event that was brought to my attention the other evening:  It had my blood boiling.

The caller was angry, and frustrated.  "Jeff, this is going to piss you off, I know it is, but you need to find out if this is true.  It is absolutely killing morale among some of the corrections officers"

The caller went on to describe the horrible outcome of our jail attempting to transfer 28 prisoners, already convicted and sentenced to state prison,  to the state's custody the day before.  Apparently, according this individual's account (and since confirmed by multiple sources), our jail had COVID tested all 28 of these convicts, got their paperwork in order, staffed three transport vans (with officers on OT to drive) along with a chase car with a supervisor on OT---and sent these prisoners 4 hours away at "zero dark thirty."  This was the plan, to transfer them to the state.  But like the best laid plans, sometimes they fall apart.  Upon arrival at the state facility---all of the convicts were tested again for COVID.  And what do you know, six of them tested positive.....

Okay--but now what?  I mean, it's not like we, at the county jail can turn away a prisoner that has COVID--we have to take them in and quarantine them.  Surely the state corrections department has to do this as well, right?

Wrong.

So here's where the story becomes incredibly infuriating.  Because, as we know, we are already housing MANY state prisoners at our county jail for zero compensation (although the costs to us for this service adds up to $90.00 per day per prisoner)----so the thought of handing off a group of 28 state prisoners to the state department of corrections was one that many in the jail were very relieved to be doing.  Not to mention that these convicted prisoners are among the most difficult for officers to deal with day in and day out....

But the state blew up the plan.  Apparently they have a policy against accepting any prisoner who has COVID or has been exposed to anyone who has COVID.  So they rejected NOT just the 6 positives---they sent ALL 28 State Prisoners back to Escambia County to be quarantined for a two week period before we can "attempt" to send them back again.  Can you believe that??

"The rub is, they would have quarantined them there anyway had they not tested positive--for 14 days!" said one exasperated, knowledgable source within the jail with whom I spoke.

"How much did this evolution cost the taxpayers of Escambia County!"  was my question to this individual.

"A lot---and after this COVID pandemic is over there will be dissertations written on just how costly

this has been for corrections!"

*My rough math--to illustrate the costs of this one event to Escambia County taxpayers:

3 guards on OT for 12 hours  $1,080.00

1 supervisor on OT for 12 hours  $480.00

106 gallons of fuel for the trip for 4 vehicles  $339.00

28 prisoners in our jail @ $90.00 per day for 14 days  $35,280.00

$37,179.00

My takeaways/my opinions:

#1--the last thing we should do locally, literally before prisoners for transfer are loaded into the van, is each one should be rapid tested for COVID---so this never happens again.

#2--Someone needs to force the state to update the protocol on acceptance of their prisoners.  It is not enough to go on TV and say "we have enough bed space for our prisoners" when in reality this is a disingenuous obfuscation as the state actually suffers from a lack of personnel to supervise prisoners----just as the local jails do.

#3--We MUST be compensated by the state for the service we continue to provide them that is costing local taxpayers $12,000.00 or more daily.

#4--This sort of issue takes an incalculable toll on morale on our corrections officers that is in many respects more costly than the HUGE financial cost.