In a letter to Jail Administrator Bill Hobbs dated Aug. 19, the Oklahoma State Department of Health denied the county’s plan to reopen the Comanche County Detention Center, saying the county’s plan does not provide for capacity compliance after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
At issue is detention center overcrowding, a problem that has plagued the jail for years. The plan submitted by Hobbs and county commissioners addressed issues with overcrowding during the pandemic, but failed to address it after the pandemic ends.
On the recommendation of Assistant District Attorney Kyle Cabelka, commissioners voted Monday to update the current plan to maintain capacity by continuing short-term contracts with other facilities — such as the contract with Tillman County.
“(OSDH) accepted the initial plan, but we didn’t address the long-term,” said District 3 Commissioner Alvin Cargill. “We’ve looked at some other options and I think what we’re doing with short-term contracts will mitigate costs and alleviate the need for a long-term contract with another facility.”
Comanche County Commissioners initially approved a plan, submitted by Hobbs, that was forwarded to Oklahoma Department of Health on Aug. 11.
The plan included five stages that dealt with precautions for arresting officers, inmate intake, inmate transfer, center population and staff screening. While the plan recommends masks for inmates, staff will be required to wear masks.
At the heart of the proposal was how the detention center would deal with overcrowding, but failed to address the issue post-COVID-19. Currently, the jail houses 205 inmates, well under the 95 percent cap mandated by the State Department of Health, to leave space should the need to quarantine arise.
To meet the state’s 95 percent mandate, now and after the pandemic, the county will maintain a contract with Tillman County to house Comanche County’s overflow. However, Hobbs said he will work with the judicial system to release certain inmates who do not pose a risk to the public.
“We’re going to keep an open line of communication with the prosecutors, defense counsel and district judges of those inmates having low bonds and unable to bond out,” Hobbs said. “We will, when possible, work with judiciary to set accelerated plea dockets and recommend for judicial consideration those inmates for whom recognizance bond or bond reduction does not present an unwanted public safety or flight risk.”
The jail has been closed to new detainees since May 21 when the Oklahoma Department of Corrections began transferring inmates who tested negative for COVID-19 to its North Fork and Mabel Bassett correctional centers, initially leaving the Lawton facility as a quarantine center for inmates who had tested positive. All new detainees have been transported and held at Tillman County, which currently houses 64 Comanche County inmates.
