County Corrections Bureau Chief Tony Aston (left) and Gov. Jay Inslee talk at the Snohomish County Jail on Friday. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)

County Corrections Bureau Chief Tony Aston (left) and Gov. Jay Inslee talk at the Snohomish County Jail on Friday. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)

Governor impressed by Snohomish County Jail reforms

EVERETT — Not so long ago, the Snohomish County Jail was gaining a regional reputation for trouble.

There was inmate crowding, the soaring cost of overtime, and a string of more than a dozen in-custody deaths. Most occurred among detainees who were wrestling with mental illness or had other health problems, including withdrawals from alcohol abuse or heroin addiction.

But reforms instituted under the direction of Sheriff Ty Trenary since 2013 now are bringing a different type of scrutiny.

Gov. Jay Inslee came to tour the jail Friday. He left impressed.

“Snohomish County is a state leader in jail diversion,” the governor said Tuesday in a prepared statement. “This innovative effort starts at entry, when people are pre-screened to identify those with mental and behavioral health needs — ensuring people get what they need while incarcerated. They also connect inmates to needed services upon release which reduces the risk of returning to jail.

“This is a model that could be replicated statewide,” Inslee said.

The governor toured the jail’s booking area and its medical unit — a place routinely full of people detoxing from opioids.

Inslee asked for the visit after learning earlier this month about the partnership jail officials have forged with the state Department of Social and Health Services.

The state is under federal court order to reduce long delays in conducting forensic mental health evaluations and in restoring competency among people who are locked up for criminal cases but might be too ill to assist their attorneys in their own defense.

Snohomish County prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and corrections and human services staff came together to create a court rule that allows for the jail’s mental health professionals to conduct preliminary mental health screenings. They can quickly identify those who need a full competency evaluation by a psychologist, reducing some of the wait times for inmates living with mental illnesses.

The county has provided office space in the jail for a state forensic psychologist. That person works closely with jail staff to identify detainees with mental health issues, and to swiftly conduct competency evaluations without the need to transport the person to Western State Hospital in Pierce County.

The screening also makes it easier to connect people living with mental illness with care providers and programs prior to their release from custody. The jail also implemented electronic medical records to better track the needs of inmates.

The aim is to reduce the number of people whose mental illness is leading to encounters with police and playing a role in their being brought to the jail.

“If what we are doing helps others and it gets mentally ill out of jails, I’m really proud of that,” Trenary said.

The governor also was told about efforts the county is making at the jail to combat opioid addiction, a problem that public health officials consider an epidemic in Snohomish County.

The jail has taken steps to more closely monitor the health of people who begin to experience withdrawals after being locked up on criminal charges.

By month’s end, the county hopes to begin connecting people at the jail with programs that offer medication shown to help addicts maintain hard-won sobriety.

The program at the jail would be the first of its type in the state, said Cammy Hart-Anderson, a Snohomish County Human Services division manager.

“We are only able to do it because these folks let us into their house,” she said.

Mary Jane Brell Vujovic, the county’s director of human services, called it “a dream partnership.”

County Corrections Bureau Chief Tony Aston said the governor heard about other changes that have been made in the jail, including booking policies and a shift in philosophy about how the lockup should be used.

Under Trenary, the jail population is more closely managed and some bookings are turned away if the person’s medical condition is such that they belong in a hospital bed instead of behind bars.

Kathleen Kyle, the executive director of the Snohomish County Public Defender Association, said the measures taken by the sheriff’s office and human services are having a positive effect on the lives of some the county’s most vulnerable.

“I’m not saying the job is done. We have a lot of work to do,” she said. “We need more partnerships to do the work. I have to say, though, corrections had really come to the table and is getting creative.”

Diana Hefley and Jerry Cornfield contributed to this report.

Scott North: 425-339-3431; north@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snorthnews.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.