Auburn inmate numbers hit 166

AUBURN – A team of state inspectors will soon be examining the Androscoggin County Jail.

Their goal: to learn all they can about the 17-year-old jail before they take it over.

Notice of the two-day visit arrived at Sheriff Guy Desjardins’ office on Wednesday, accompanied by a 29-page questionnaire.

“I’m not going to be able to complete all of it,” Desjardins said, giving copies to the three member County Commission. “Some of it is financial.”

And some of it is still undecided, with blanks to be filled as the upcoming budget is determined.

The questionnaire covers everything from the number of beds to mealtimes to the type of software in the jail’s computers.

The answers would be needed if the governor’s plan, unveiled in late August, is implemented.

The requested population numbers will be easy to share. And they’ve been running high.

Though the facility is rated for 136 inmates, on Wednesday there were 166, a high for the year.

The numbers were so high that the jail, already out of bunks, ran out of mattresses, too. In their place, inmates were issued extra blankets and told to fold them, Desjardins said.

The state’s consolidation plan would bring all 15 county jails under the state Department of Corrections. Four jails – including those in Franklin and Oxford counties – would close.

Money appears to be the main reason.

For each of the past three years, the cost of running Maine’s jails has risen by about 12 percent, Baldacci said in his announcement of the plan. During the same period, prison costs have risen about 6 percent per year.

Desjardins said this week he still has lots of questions about how the changeover would work and whether predicted savings truly exist.

He plans on talking with county leaders across the state as the plan takes shape. Meanwhile, he is answering the state’s questions.

County Commissioner Helen Poulin said she plans to attend at least part of the visit by the state.

Similar inspections are expected at all 15 county jails. Visits will be led by Ralph Nichols, Maine’s director of correctional inspections.