That was the message delivered to Howard County commissioners Monday morning by Carl R. Griffith and Associates Inc., a consulting firm contracted with by the county to provide statistics concerning the design and development of a new county jail.

According to Dick Kirkland, a consultant with the firm and former sheriff of Reno, Nev., the lack of a reliable data management system for the county and its law enforcement agencies not only hobbled his company’s study, but is also hamstringing the county’s efforts to make good decisions concerning the design of a jail.

“It’s like getting up at 2 a.m. and jumping in your car and heading down the road without your headlights on,” Kirkland told commissioners. “I’m sure someone, somewhere is writing this data down and filing it away, but it’s not in a place where it can be looked at and compared over any length of time.

“Right now, all we can do is give you a photo of your system, and it says there is something really wrong with it. We’re driving without the headlights on.”

Kirkland told commissioners several key pieces of information — including the average length of stay for an inmate at the county jail facility — simply can’t be determined at this time.

“We made open records requests but never got a response,” said Kirkland. “And I’m sure, a year from now, the court systems could get us the information we need in the form of an 800-page report, but these people have to keep up with the paperwork that’s being filed today. It’s just not possible to work with the data in the format you’re currently using.”

According to the company’s study, Howard County has more pre-trial detainees than its size and population should dictate, with the reason also falling into the “lack of data” category.

Kirkland and Griffith both praised the county’s pre-trial bonding program, however, and encouraged commissioners to look into other programs designed to bring jail populations down.

“The county needs to develop a strong alternative sentence program, including work details and other services that can provide services to the taxpayers,” said Kirkland. “You also need to look at strengthening the pre-trial bonding program you already have. Speeding up the criminal justice system should also be a priority.”

According to Kirkland, based on the average annual increase in the jail’s average daily population, a 96-bed jail would serve the county’s needs for approximately 10 to 15 years before it reached its capacity.

“That’s only if these other problems with the criminal justice system are addressed,” said Griffith. “If the county doesn’t take care of these things and institute programs to decrease population like we’ve talked about, a 144-bed facility might only last 10 to 15 years.”

According to Commissioner Jerry Kilgore, that projection could mean having to finance the expansion of the facility before the bonds to construct it — expected to be sold on a 20-year term — are ever paid for.

“This goes back to what I’ve been saying all along,” said Kilgore. “ And it’s the reason I’ve supported the construction of a 144-bed jail. However, if we have to go with a 96-bed jail to get this thing (bond election) passed, then that’s what we have to do.”

County Judge Mark Barr seemed less confident in the projection, saying it all hangs on whether the county’s population grows or declines.

“Possibly. And that kind of sits way down the road,” said Barr. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. Big Spring may grow or it may decline. I think the prudent thing to do is to take this step. We know we need a jail. We know we need it. To take this step and put the infrastructure in case we do need to expand, so we can do it easily and inexpensively. That’s the goal of the county commissioner’s court right now.”

Barr said another key element for the bond issue the court expects to take to the voters in November is the projected cost, a figure he’s hoping to have in-hand soon.

“We don’t know. Jeff’s (Heffelfinger, project architect) working really hard on that right now,” said Barr. “I talked to him Friday and he was making progress but he needed to contact construction material people and see where the cost are on things like that. I hope we’ll have a cost here pretty quick, within two weeks, hopefully.”

The bond election the county is planning for November won’t be its first stab at funding for a new jail. A similar bond for slightly more than $10 million in November 2006 failed as 60.13 percent of the voters going to the ballot box said “no” to the measure. According to vote tallies, 2,618 votes were cast in favor of the bond, while 3,949 ballots were cast against.

Talks and efforts surrounding the design and construction of a new jail have been ongoing for more than three years. As of now, the court has given the go-ahead for a 96-bed facility to be located near the 3600 block of W. Highway 80.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it