The Bradley County jail operates within the existing laws of the state of Tennessee and the guidelines set forth by Tennessee Corrections Institute for the safe and humane treatment and care of people in our custody.   State law gives TCI a mandate to administer the minimum standards for jails and correctional facilities and to conduct annual inspections to determine compliance with 14 established criteria related to jail operations. 

The Bradley County jail is a state certified facility that meets or exceeds TCI’s minimum requirements for Type I jails, which is the classification of our facility. 

As your sheriff, I have a statutory obligation for the overall operation of the jail and the safety of correction officers and inmates.

The Bradley County jail has been open less than three years and we have reached capacity of 408 at times.  We have been able to get by with 86 correction officers in the jail but TCI’s staffing analysis specifies 92 deputies when the facility reaches capacity.  In fact, we have exceeded capacity several times since I became sheriff.  To prevent the possibility of being de-certified I have no choice but to request additional funds to increase the staff to 92 in the fiscal year 2008 budget I presented to the county commission.

It should also be pointed out that the jail produces revenue from the housing of federal and state inmates, inmate commissary sales, medical / dental fees, work release and the inmate phone system that goes into the county’s general fund. Combined, these revenues represent a major portion of what it costs to operate the jail.

Tent City

Several people have read about Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio who houses inmates in tents and they will ask me why we can’t do that here in Bradley County.  Sheriff Arpaio attracted the national media’s attention when he set up a “tent city” to house inmates from the Maricopa County jail.

There is a very simple answer.  Tennessee state law does not allow me to house inmates in this type of structure, in fact all aspects of the care we provide are dictated by Tennessee Code Annotated.

As an option to reduce the jail’s population and replace it with low-cost housing I have suggested the county commission consider constructing a dormitory-type facility that could be located on-site at the Judicial Center to house misdemeanor offenders.

By moving these individuals, who are for the most part non-violent,  to a barracks style low-cost facility, we can prolong the use of high cost high security jail space for more violent offenders, saving taxpayer money.