Jail inmate work hours on the rise

Published 9:00 pm Monday, December 15, 2003

EVERETT — Inmates at the Snohomish County Jail worked 69,000 more hours in 2002 than they did the year before, according to a state Jail Industries Board report released earlier this month.

The increase is mainly due to adding 30 more beds for inmate workers in 2002, and housing 50 inmates at Camp Evergreen, a minimum-security facility at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, said David Oster, the jail’s counseling supervisor.

That helped boost the number of hours inmates worked to 326,234 in 2002 — a 27 percent increase from the 257,232 hours worked in 2001, the Jail Industries report says.

"It’s a constructive way for them to spend their time. The public gets some benefit back by getting trash cleaned up and having projects that may not otherwise be done in county parks or at the fairgrounds," Oster said. "And if the inmates are kept busy, they’re generally better behaved at the jail."

The Snohomish County Jail posted the second-highest number of inmate work hours in the state, topped only by King County Corrections, according to Jail Industries.

Inmates did $2.2 million worth of work in Snohomish County last year, the jail report says. The state valued the work at $6.90 an hour, the minimum wage in 2002.

The increase mirrors a rise in inmate labor throughout the state, said Jill Will, director of the Jail Industries Board.

"Over the past five years, there’s been a slow but steady rise," she said. "Inmate populations are rising, and jails are recognizing the value of inmates making positive contributions to the community."

In Snohomish County, the jail averaged 146 inmate workers during 2002. They worked 172,732 hours inside the jail, preparing meals, cleaning, doing laundry and performing other jobs as needed, Oster said. Workers are always supervised, he said.

Lower-risk inmates who qualified to work outside the jail worked 153,500 hours last year picking up litter, helping the county maintain parks and trails, shoveling snow and washing county vehicles, according to Jail Industries.

This year, inmates worked more than 179,000 hours through the end of September, not counting hours worked at Camp Evergreen in 2003, Oster said.

"What they’re doing are jobs that probably wouldn’t have been done otherwise," said Susan Neely, an executive director who oversees criminal justice issues for the Snohomish County Executive’s Office. "If we can give them a skill that they didn’t have, that’s also a benefit."

The work also saves the county money, she said.

"In the case of cooking in the jail, if we did not have the inmate workers there, there would be a significant cost to the system," she said.

All inmates housed at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds worked, doing maintenance and cleanup there. The jail didn’t use Camp Evergreen in 2001, Oster said, and hasn’t housed inmates there since September because the minimum-security space isn’t needed, he said.

The jail sends up to 180 minimum-security inmates to its Indian Ridge Corrections Center near Arlington, where they make cabinets, re-cover jail mattresses, repair inmate uniforms, maintain the facility and do other jobs, said Indian Ridge Lt. Randy Finsen. Some are helping restore the banks of the Stillaguamish River watershed.

People serving time don’t have to work, but many want to, he said.

"It gets you out of the jail and out into the air," he said. "We have a beautiful setting out here, except for a 14-foot fence with razor wire on top."

Inmates are screened before being allowed to work and must behave well inside the jail to keep their jobs, Oster said. Only those serving time or awaiting trial on serious, violent offenses would not be allowed to work, he said.

The Lynnwood Jail also saw a spike in its community service program in 2002, according to the Jail Industries report. Community Service hours rose to almost 26,000 in 2002 from 14,600 in 2001— a 76 percent increase.

This year, 399 people have performed community service in lieu of jail time through the end of September, working more than 14,400 hours, said Don Cirino, the Lynnwood Police Department detention commander.

Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or schiffner@heraldnet.com.