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SUBJECTS › PUBLIC SAFETY › Jail Services and Alternatives to Incarceration
Updated 04/09

Jail Services and Alternatives to Incarceration

Contents

About Jail Services

Each county, city, and town is responsible for the prosecution, adjudication, sentencing, and incarceration of misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor offenses committed by adults in their respective jurisdictions, and referred from their respective law enforcement agencies, whether filed under state law or city ordinance, and must carry out these responsibilities through the use of their own courts, staff, and facilities, or by entering into contracts or interlocal agreements under this chapter to provide these services.  Jail overcrowding, costs of prisoner care, drug offenses, and the growing number of mentally ill in the jail system are issues faced by local governments.  This page provides an overview to local government corrections.  Its main focus is interlocal contracting and alternatives to incarceration.  If you have information to add to this page, please Contact MRSC.

Statutes

  • Ch.72.09 RCW - Department of Corrections
  • RCW 72.09.300 - Local Law and Justice Councils - Law and Justice Plans
  • RCW 70.48 - City and County Jails Act
    • RCW 70.48.071 - Standards for operation -- Adoption by units of local government.
    • RCW 70.48.130 - Emergency or necessary medical and health care for confined persons -- Reimbursement procedures -- Conditions -- Limitations
  • RCW 39.34.180 - Criminal Justice Responsibilities--Interlocal Agreements

Reference Sources

Interlocal Jail Agreements

  • Statutory Reference: RCW 39.34.180 Criminal justice responsibilities -- Interlocal agreements -- Termination.
  • Auburn and Okanogan County ( 687 KB) - Interlocal agreement for housing prisoners in Okanogan County; term 12-1-06 to12-31-08, renewable for successive periods.
  • Camas and Skamania County ( 49 KB) - Interlocal agreement for jail services, 7-03.
  • Covington Resolution 02-201 ( 118 KB) - Interlocal agreement to house port trial prisoners at Buckley for short periods of time, 11-03 
  • Forks (providing services to others)
    • Forks and Port Angeles ( 319 KB) - Agreement to furnish jail facilities for Port Angeles prisoners, commencing 6-1-04 for period of 3 years, renewable annually.  Renegotiated every 3 years, 90 day termination notice.
    • Forks and Sequim ( 167 KB) - Agreement  for prisoner confinement services, 2002
  • Des Moines (no jail)
    • Auburn and Des Moines ( 337 KB) - Interlocal agreement for incarceration of misdemeanor inmates in Auburn jail, continues through 12-31-04 with annual renewals
    • Fife and Des Moines ( 136 KB)- Jail services agreement to provide services to Des Moines, through December 31 2010
    • Okanogan County and Des Moines ( 148 KB) - Jail services agreement from April 2000 until termination, annual fee review.
  • Grand Coulee and Grant County (  203 KB)- Agreement to provide Grand Coulee with jail and district court services including probation, prosecution, and public defense, term is 1-98 to 12-08, funding is through the city's share of county-wide sales and use tax for criminal justice
  • Kennewick and  Benton County (Adobe Acrobat Document 1 MB) - Agreement  for joint use of the jail facilities and services located at the county justice center 2007-2011
  • King County Cities
  • King County Consortium Cities Jail Administration Group - Yakima County Agreement
  • Leavenworth and  Chelan County ( 244 KB) - Agreement for housing inmates in the Chelan County Regional Jail, 6-04
  • Longview and Cowlitz County ( 38 KB)- Agreement for housing inmates in the Chelan County Jail, initial term of agreement is 1-1-97 to 12-21-05, followed by automatic annual renewals.
  • Marysville - Interlocal Agreement with Lake Stevens for Jail Services ( 1.41 MB), 9-99 renewal options until 12-08. Amendment, 1-04
  • Naches and Yakima County - Agreement  for  Corrections/Detention  Yakima County,  12-03 (Naches Resolution No 370)
  • Othello and Adams County (Adobe Acrobat Document 49 KB) - Interlocal agreement for provision of prosecution, adjudication, indigent defense, sentencing, and incarceration services for misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor offenses,  1-04 with automatic renewal.
  • Poulsbo (No jail)
    • Poulsbo and Benton County (Adobe Acrobat Document 165 KB) - Agreement for housing inmates at the Benton County jail, through 12-03 with annual renewals, with 90 termination
    • Poulsbo and Kitsap County (Adobe Acrobat Document 139 KB)- Agreement for housing inmates at the Kitsap County jail, 1-04 to 12-04 with automatic renewals, with 90 day termination clause.
    • Poulsbo and Yakima County ( 2.56 MB) - Agreement for housing inmates at the Yakima County jail, 7-02 with annual renewals, and 60-day termination clause.
  • Puyallup and  Yakima County ( 263 KB) - Agreement  for the housing of inmates in the Yakima County Jail, authorized by Resolution No. 1797, passed 6/16/03
  • Union Gap and Walla Walla - Corrections/Detention agreement ( 1.26 MB), 2008-2009 
  • Walla Walla Resolution No. 2004-11 ( 495 KB) - Authorizes a 10 year  jail facilities agreement with Walla Walla County, 7-04 to 7-14.

Cooperative Facilities

  • King County - Auburn, Federal Way Des Moines, Renton, Tukwila, Burien and SeaTac - Formation of South Correctional Entity (SCORE) by interlocal contract to provide sufficient capacity to replace the jail space being lost when existing contracts are terminated; Allow all inmates to be housed within King County; Provide for long-range capacity needs of the owner cities for the next 20 years; Allow for programming space for education, community transition and job training; provide jail services at a cost effective rate for the owner cities; provide operational control for the owner cities; provide jail services that are conveniently located for the owner cities; provide efficiencies for criminal justice partners  (2008) 
  • King County - Northeast Cities Jail Planning Group
  • Benton County Justice Center Expansion - Benton County, Richland, Kennewick, Prosser, and West Richland (2000)
  • Chelan County Juvenile Justic Facility - Cheland County, Cashmere, Chelan, Entiat, Leavenworth and Wenatchee (1995)
  • Sevens County Martin Hall Juvenile Center - Stevens, Adams, Asotin, Douglas, Ferry, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane and Whitman Counties (1997)

Alternatives to Incarceration

Local governments are seeking alternatives to jail to reduce jail overcrowding and effect cost savings.  The state Department of Corrections provides work programs in which city and counties may become partners.  Several jurisdictions have their own programs.  Programs include reporting to  the jail during the day,  electronic monitoring, work release, work crews, and community service.   See Excerpt on Alternatives to Incarceration from,  An Evaluation of Court and Court-related Services and Options for City of Port Angles by Phillip K. Kushlan & Associates, 1996.

Local Government Corrections Program Descriptions - Samples

Special Topics

  • Offenders with Mental Health Disorders
  • Medical and Health Care for Confined Persons
    • RCW 70.48.130 - Emergency or necessary medical and health care for confined persons -- Reimbursement procedures -- Conditions -- Limitations.
      Summary:  It is the intent of the legislature that all jail inmates receive appropriate and cost-effective emergency and necessary medical care. Governing units, the department of social and health services, and medical care providers shall cooperate to achieve the best rates consistent with adequate care.  Under RCW 70.48.020 (7)"Governing unit" means the city and/or county or any combinations of cities and/or counties responsible for the operation, supervision, and maintenance of a jail.  Payment for emergency or necessary health care shall be by the governing unit, except that the department of social and health services shall directly reimburse the provider pursuant to chapter 74.09 RCW, if the confined person is eligible under the department's medical care programs.  If the confined person is unable to be financially responsible for medical care and is ineligible for DHSH programs or private coverage, and in the absence of an interlocal agreement or other contracts to the contrary, the governing unit may obtain reimbursement for the cost of such medical services from the unit of government whose law enforcement officers initiated the charges on which the person is being held in the jail (see exception for state prisoners).   The governing unit or provider may obtain reimbursement from the confined person for the cost of health care services not provided under chapter 74.09 RCW. 
    • Additional references:
      • AGO 2005 No. 8, July 7, 2005- COUNTIES – CITIES AND TOWNS – JAILS – Financial responsibility for costs of medical care provided to arrestees after detainment but before booking into jail.
      • Attorney General Informal Opinion -   Letter to David McEachran, Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney from Jeffrey Even, Office of the Attorney General, September 14, 2000 - Note this is an unnumbered, informal opinion, and is  not "official" advice from the Office of the Attorney General like a  formal Attorney General Opinion.
      • AGO 1980 No. 21, November 13, 1980 - Relating to responsibilities for costs of prisoners between the city and county for felony convictions
      • National Commission on Correctional Health Care, Standards for Health Services in Jails
      • Standards for Health Services - American Correctional Association

  • Siting of Correctional Facilities (Jails, Work-Release, and Others)
    • Jails (“local correctional facilities”) are by statutory definition considered to be essential public facilities and consequently subject to the provisions of RCW 36.70A.200. 
    • Siting Local Government Facilities
      • RCW 70.48.180 gives counties the specific authority to locate and operate jail facilities at any place designated by the county legislative authority within the territorial limits of the county, including within the city. 
      • RCW 70.48.190 grants similar authority to cities and allows cities to locate municipal jail facilities within the territorial limits of the county in which the city or town is situated. 
      • While the Growth Management Act’s intent is to establish a collaborative process involving cities in the siting of essential county-wide, regional, and state facilities, the specific authority of  RCW 70.48.180 controls. While the county would be required to follow the city’s permitting requirements, the city could not prohibit the siting of the essential public facility within the city.  The city must follow a process for EPF siting that is consistent with the adopted county-wide planning policies. 
    • Siting State Government Work Release or Other Community-Based Facility
      • RCW 72.65.220 - Siting process for the Department of Corrections and/or its contractors must undertake in siting work-release or other community-based facilities.
      • WAC 137-57-050 - Site selection procedures for work/training release site
    • Siting of Secure Community Transition Facilities - MRSC