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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Yakima jail crowded, outdated, report says

Associated Press

YAKIMA – An outdated building design and overcrowding make it difficult for corrections officers to manage inmates at the Yakima County Jail, a recent report says. Nine inmates escaped earlier this month.

The 21-page report was prepared by two consultants for a group of King County cities that rent beds at the jail.

According to the report, nearly one assault a day takes place in the jail, largely a result of an outdated design that limits the ability of staff to control the problem. An average of 25.6 assaults occurred monthly through September 2005, and the figure was even higher in 2004, based on Yakima County jail records.

The report also described a culture of tension in the main jail with too much idle time for inmates, the presence of gangs and racial problems between Hispanic inmates from Yakima County and black inmates from King County.

Overcrowding hampers jail administrators’ ability to separate low-risk inmates from more serious offenders, the report said.

The main jail and its annex were built for 574 inmates but now hold about 800 inmates.

Nine inmates carried out the largest escape in the jail’s history on Nov. 25 by cutting through the ceiling of their fourth-floor housing unit. The inmates then kicked open a grated roof vent that jail officials thought had been made escape-proof following a similar event in 1994. Five inmates were recaptured on jail grounds. Two more were apprehended the following day. Two other inmates remain at large.

Thirty-five King County cities entered into contracts to rent bends in Yakima County for a maximum of 440 misdemeanor offenders in August 2002. The agreement was amended to reduce the inmate numbers to 330 more than a year later. Jail officials said there were 291 King County inmates in Yakima County custody earlier this week.