COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The first Branch County jail overcrowding emergency of 2015 is coming to an end following more than 3 straight weeks when the prisoner count totaled more than 142 inmates which is the rated capacity for aging facility. Sheriff John Pollack declared the emergency on February 6 when he notified the courts that the capacity had been exceeded for seven straight days. When it stays that way for a week, it sets into motion the steps that are designed to end the situation.
If the overcrowding persists for more than a couple of weeks, the Judges usually order a release of inmates to reduce the jail population by 20% of capacity, as regulations require. In Branch County, that means the prisoner count has to go down to 127. That number was reached last Friday and it was achieved without any sentence reductions as were needed in 3 of the 4 overcrowding emergencies that happened in 2014. This month, a combination of bonds being lowered and fewer arrests allowed the matter to be resolved.
Sheriff Pollack yesterday let the courts know the desired prisoner count had been reached and the Judges will now be signing off on the end to the emergency. Pollack says to expect more overcrowding from time to time for the rest of the year with no easy solutions at hand. He believes the community has to come up with some suggestions for alternative methods of incarceration or programs that would hopefully lower the number of people being arrested.
