Sheriff shouldn’t have to manage the county jail

There’s an old saying: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

The Snohomish County Council has decided to fix a budget problem by resorting to a drastic measure: having Sheriff John Lovick manage the county jail.

But such a drastic measure is poor policy and it’s happening without a hint of careful, detailed analysis needed to make an informed policy decision.

No doubt, the county faces some tough choices this year. There’s a budget gap that has widened from $9 million in September to $21 million today and more adjustments may be ahead.

And there’s also no question that jail costs, particularly overtime, are serious issues that need to be addressed. Certainly, there is good reason to seek ways to rein in millions of dollars in overtime. But what’s the reason behind all of that overtime? Could it be that staffing issues have not been adequately addressed? If so, wouldn’t a detailed county analysis help?

One such analysis did occur in 2007, when County Corrections director Steve Thompson and deputy director Susan Clawson, both of whom have resigned over this issue, outlined ways the jail could become more efficient. Now that they are leaving and taking their combined years of corrections experience with them, those conclusions seem to have been ignored, overlooked or just forgotten.

Aside from making the sheriff’s department the largest in the county, the council’s hasty move puts a sheriff in charge of a jail. Such a move may seem to make sense. After all, wasn’t the sheriff the guy who sat in front of the jail in all those old western films?

Unfortunately, the realities of 21st century corrections are far more complex than keeping track of the outlaw Jesse James. Lovick has already alluded to the fact that his expertise is in police work, not in running a jail.

By handing the jail’s management to Lovick, the council is taking a big risk, banking the jail’s future on assumptions that are not backed up by careful analysis.