Dan McKay
Albuqerque Journal
BERNALILLO CO., N.M. — Overcrowding at the Bernalillo County jail reached new heights this week when 2,725 inmates crammed into the lockup.
The Metropolitan Detention Center is designed to house only 2,236 inmates, county officials say. The local jail system has been overcrowded for more than a decade - sparking a lawsuit over jail conditions that is still pending.
The number of inmates released into house arrest is also rising. The county is now overseeing about 410 inmates in “community custody.” They are subject to drug tests and must meet other requirements to be eligible to enter and stay in the program.
“We’re dealing with people who are not a threat to society,” County Commission Chairman Alan Armijo said.
The community-custody program has previously handled around 315 inmates. That figure rose in recent months as county executives worked with judges to expand the county’s ability to release inmates into community custody.
At a commission meeting Tuesday, Armijo blasted the city government for contributing to jail overcrowding.
He called Mayor Martin Chávez a “dictator” who’s too eager to put people in jail.
Armijo said city police are arresting people on minor charges, such as not wearing a seat belt.
Crowded jail conditions could lead to “rioting” and harm inmates and staff, Armijo said.
In an interview, city Police Chief Ray Schultz said officers arrest people on minor charges only when there is a public-safety reason for doing so. Instead, he said, officers issue hundreds of misdemeanor citations that don’t require the suspect to go to jail.
“When we make an arrest, we need to - we have to,” Schultz said. “We could make a lot more arrests, but we don’t.”
A police spokesman said the number of adults arrested by city police actually went down in 2006 compared with 2005.
The jail has been a source of tension between the city and county governments for years, spawning arguments over how to run and pay for it.
Copyright 2007 Albuquerque Journal