MULTNOMAH COUNTY Hours. (KPTV) – The Multnomah County Sheriff is sounding the alarm that their jails are nearing capacity.

It’s the latest concern for law enforcement as they brace for potential unrest surrounding next week’s presidential election.

If the jails reach capacity, it would force an emergency release of people in county custody.

The problem, however, is not the lack of space to house the prisoners. Rather, it comes from a lack of staff and funding.

According to the county’s Emergency Release Plan, if jails reach 95 percent capacity, they must begin releasing inmates.

Currently, the budgeted capacity of prisons is 1,130 beds. As of Tuesday, there are 983 people booked into the jail, or 87 percent of capacity.

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There are five jail dormitories that are not in use now in Multnomah County. That’s because Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell says they don’t have enough corrections officers to staff those dorms and don’t have the budget to hire someone else.

She says if they were to open more dormitories, they would have to close other parts of the Sheriff’s Office.

“We could close the booking counter,” she said. “So they go hand in hand in terms of being able to be nimble and open a shelter and not have the funding available to really attack this emergency staffing crisis in our system right now and that was in our system for more than a period. several years,”

Who gets out if prisons reach 95% capacity?

There are many people who will not be eligible for release even if prisons reach 95% capacity.

Those who are not eligible include people facing charges of domestic violence or child abuse, sex offenses, if they pose a risk to the community or to a victim, or if they have a history of DUII charges.

To determine who will be released, the Sheriff’s Office would follow a scorecard that is part of the Emergency Release Plan.

Only those who score below 100 would be eligible for release. Examples would include those facing charges for nonviolent crimes and misdemeanors.

Not everyone who qualifies would be exempt, however. The sheriff’s office would only be looking to get back under the 95 percent capacity limit.

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Sheriff Morrisey O’Donnell says releasing even those eligible could pose a threat to the community and doesn’t want to implement the Emergency Release Plan in the first place.

“I do not believe our county should rely on this plan without truly addressing the critical public safety needs of our community through adequate funding, including personnel and resources focused directly on our public safety system,” she said.

She adds that the county is preparing the jails in case of disturbances on election night.

While she did not release specific details, she said she is working with system partners and neighboring agencies to ensure they have capacity on election night.

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